


Drabbles for Harry's Birthday Drive 2019

by lululawrence



Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, American Harry, American Louis, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Awkward Harry, Baking, Banter, Birthday, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Breakfast, Canon Compliant, Cat/Human Hybrids, Cats, Couch Cuddles, Crack, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cupcakes, Dating, Dogs, Domestic Fluff, Drabbles for Charity, Early Days, Engagement, Established Relationship, Famous Harry, First Dates, Flirting, Flowers, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, Genderswap, Girl Direction, Homelessness, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrid Harry, Hybrid Louis, Hybrids, IKEA, Kid Fic, Love, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mentions of Cancer, Mutual Pining, Nervousness, Nesting, Non-Famous Louis Tomlinson, Oblivious Harry, Open Relationships, Parent Harry, Party, Pining, Reminiscing, Schmoop, Sleepy Cuddles, Stargazing, Supportive Harry, Teacher Louis, Teasing, Time Travel, Touching, Weddings, famous/non-famous, i don't think i've tagged that one yet even though it applies to earlier drabbles too, i love that that is an official tag, mentions of grief/mourning, or at least a hopeful ending, please see the author's note for chapter 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-10 20:57:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 24,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17433383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lululawrence/pseuds/lululawrence
Summary: Each chapter is a different drabble dedicated to a person who donated to Harry's birthday drive! The prompt requested as well as the pairing are in the author’s note for each chapter as well. There are multiple pairings due to various pairings being requested by the donors, so please pay attention to that information in each chapter! Pairings include Harry/Louis, Zayn/Liam,, Grimmy/Louis, Greg/Louis,  Zayn/Louis, and Niall/Shawn.





	1. Just a Bit of Banter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [disgruntledkittenface](https://archiveofourown.org/users/disgruntledkittenface/gifts), [dimpled_halo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimpled_halo/gifts), [Larrymama15](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larrymama15/gifts), [Layne Faire (HisDarlin)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HisDarlin/gifts), [soxgirl0545](https://archiveofourown.org/users/soxgirl0545/gifts), [2014arias](https://archiveofourown.org/users/2014arias/gifts), [missytearex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/missytearex/gifts), [RecycledStardust](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RecycledStardust/gifts), [LadyLondonderry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLondonderry/gifts), [mauraleeisme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mauraleeisme/gifts), [crinkle-eyed-boo (KimmieRocks)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KimmieRocks/gifts), [haztobegood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/haztobegood/gifts), [nikogda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nikogda/gifts), [dinosaursmate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinosaursmate/gifts), [runaway_train](https://archiveofourown.org/users/runaway_train/gifts), [AlwaysAqua](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysAqua/gifts), [turnipseason](https://archiveofourown.org/users/turnipseason/gifts), [QuickedWeen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuickedWeen/gifts), [TinyGiant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyGiant/gifts), [rememberyouareloved](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rememberyouareloved/gifts).



> Thank you again to all those not only reading this, but to those who donated and requested drabbles! I'm so happy to be able to be a part of this. The pairing and chapters associated are listed below, but they will also be reiterated in each individual chapter notes as well as the prompt the drabble was written for. Please let me know if you have any questions!
> 
> Chapter 1: [disgruntledkittenface](http://disgruntledkittenface.tumblr.com) \- Tomlinshaw  
> Chapter 2: [alarrylarrie](http://alarrylarrie.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 3: [dimpled-halo](http://dimpled-halo.tumblr.com) \- Ziam  
> Chapter 4: [LayneFaire](http://laynefaire.tumblr.com) \- Ziam  
> Chapter 5: [GreatPemberly](http://greatpemberly.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 6: [feministlarry](http://feministlarry.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 7: [misstearex](http://misstearex.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 8: [wait4ever](http://wait4ever.tumblr.com) \- Ziam  
> Chapter 9: [londonfoginacup](http://londonfoginacup.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 10: [gettingdizzy-oh](http://gettingdizzy-oh.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 11: [crinkle-eyed-boo](http://crinkle-eyed-boo.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 12: [rememberyouareloved](http://rememberyouareloved.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 13: [haztobegood](http://haztobegood.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 14: [bringmetheharry](http://bringmetheharry.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 15: [catfishau](http://catfish.tumblr.com) \- Shiall  
> Chapter 16: [runaway-train-works](http://runaway-train-works.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 17: [always-aqua](http://always-aqua.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 18: [weareonejazzhand](http://weareonejazzhand.tumblr.com) \- Grouis  
> Chapter 19: [becomeawendybird](http://becomeawendybird.tumblr.com) \- Larry  
> Chapter 20: [greeneyedlarrie](http://greeneyedlarrie.tumblr.com) \- Zouis  
> These are all unbetaed and not brit picked, so please cut me some slack and know I still love and appreciate you anyway haha I hope you enjoy! Thank you!
> 
> Chapter 1 prompt: some tomlinshaw banter along the lines of like they're giving each other shit and then one of them is like oh wait are we FLIRTING (yes, about time you caught up)

Louis sipped at his beer as he looked around the party. He hated going out on a work night, but it was only a half day Friday this week, so he couldn’t complain  _ too _ much. Besides, Harry always insisted he needed a friend to go to parties. This was, of course, despite the fact he inevitably went off to talk with someone else and only returned at the end of the night when he needed a ride home. Louis was often willing to do that for him, but he hated it when it was one of Nick Grimshaw’s parties.

Nick was one of those who wanted to be posh, but he just...wasn’t. It was fine, at least it meant he had good liquor and great music at his parties, but it also meant Louis had to try to avoid the host who often made himself incredibly present. The man had a way of always coming out of the woodwork at parties he attended, but he was entirely unavoidable at the ones he put on himself.

Louis tucked himself away in a corner where he was perfectly happy to sit and watch everything else go on around him while he got comfortably buzzed. Some nights, Louis enjoyed being the center of attention and socializing, but he was tired from a long week in the office and he’d rather just sit, enjoy the alcohol, and people watch.

Less than thirty minutes after Louis had made himself comfortable in his little tucked away corner, Nick came out of the kitchen. Louis had heard him come in from the back porch where he’d probably been smoking a few minutes before, but that had just made Louis tuck himself a little further into his nook. Maybe the shadows would be enough to keep him from being spotted and he’d be left alone to comfortably remain silent.

Lifting his cup, Louis realized he was out of his drink. Pouting and looking at it as if the cup had personally wronged him, Louis weighed his chances. Nick was still fairly near the entrance to the room Louis was in. Might it be possible for him to get around Nick without being spotted in order to attain more alcohol? Should he just wait however long it would take for Nick to vacate the general area before trying to get a refill?

“Louis!” Nick cheered, and Louis sighed. Looking up, it was only at that point that Louis realized Nick was actually wearing a dress and thigh high stiletto boots. “Oi, my face is up here, if you please.”

Louis rolled his eyes and looked up at Nick, trying to show exactly how unimpressed he was. “I wasn’t checking you out. I was just surprised by your choice of colors. Does that orange really suit you?”

Nick gave a saucy wink as he stumbled just slightly in the heels. As if he wasn’t already tall enough. Louis was impressed he could walk at all.

“It is true, I’m more of a summer than an autumn, but I like to think I can pull off any shade I want to just because I’ve got the attitude for it,” Nick said before he dropped down in the seat right beside Louis. “Besides, doesn’t it show off my rather shapely thighs?”

Nick kicked out a foot and slowly dragged his hand that wasn’t holding his drink up his leg. The dress was quite short and did allow him to show off his enticingly long legs.

“Yes, you do have nice legs,” Louis admitted, almost against his will. He hoped that if he said what Nick wanted to hear, he’d be out of the conversation faster and therefore refilling his drink instead of awkwardly trying to talk to the man. 

“Why thank you, Louis. You have a very nice arse and legs yourself.”

Louis squawked a little in surprise and turned to Nick. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I thought we were just exchanging compliments!” Nick said, waving his drink around a bit. “You said I had nice legs, and I said you also had nice legs  _ and _ a nice arse! Don’t tell me I’m the first to inform you of this. If I am, that’s simply a travesty.”

They never talked like this, he and Nick. If anything, they’d banter back and forth a bit until Louis got uncomfortable or annoyed enough to shut down the conversation and leave, but it had never veered into compliments of this sort and…

Did Nick really think he had nice legs?

“Course you’re not the first to tell me about my bum,” Louis said, confused about the conversation, but never one to stray from a compliment. Besides, Nick really did have nice legs to go with his stupidly attractive hair and charming smile, and if he felt the same about Louis, that couldn’t be bad. Right? 

Oh my God, what had been in his drink earlier? 

“Good. You’re not the first to tell me about my legs.”

Louis smirked and said, “Yeah, well I’d hope not.”

“Excellent. Glad we’ve got that sorted,” Nick said, taking a swig of his drink. 

Louis wondered if maybe Nick would share, since it didn’t look like he’d be making it to the kitchen anytime soon. 

Before Louis could ask about the drink, Nick chuckled and said, “Maybe I just have to keep convincing Harry to drag you to my parties another few months and we can move past awkward flirting and finally get in a cheeky snog.”

Louis nearly choked on air. “Oh my God, are we flirting?”

“Have been for months, you idiot,” Nick said with a smile. “Been waiting ages for you to catch up.”

Flashes of their run ins at all the parties Harry had managed to convince Louis to attend filled his mind, and with Nick’s revelation, Louis realized he was right. Louis had been flirting without even realizing for months.

“Wait,” Louis said, turning to Nick, who was sitting and watching Louis with a fond look on his face. “You’re the one who told Harry to bring me to all of these?”

“Of course,” Nick said, punctuating the statement with his traditional loud and obnoxious guffaw. “Harry never would have abandoned you at those parties if I hadn’t specifically requested that he bring you so I could talk with you more.”

“He’s been doing that on purpose? I’m going to kill him,” Louis said with a laugh. “How’d either of you even know I would be okay with this?”

Nick shrugged. “I knew if you really hated me, there was no way you’d not just tell me so. Since you kept showing up with Harry, particularly at my parties, I hoped that meant I had at least part of a chance.”

“You’re not nearly so drunk as you wanted to appear earlier, are you?” Louis asked, suspicious. 

“Not at all, darling,” Nick said, smile broadening. “I’ve only had a single cocktail and that was hours ago now.”

Louis glanced over towards the bedroom door that Louis knew for a fact Nick kept locked during parties like these. When he looked back, Nick’s eyebrows were raised in surprise.

“What? Without even a first date? What kind of a girl do you take me for?”

Louis stood up and took Nick’s hand, pulling him to his feet. “The kind who’s been waiting for me to figure it all out for a few months. Besides, tomorrow’s Friday. I can wine and dine you then, if you’re available.”

Nick swayed his hips as he wobbled a bit on his heels down the hallway. “Sold. Get in here, Tomlinson. I’m ready to be ravished.”

 


	2. Drawn to You Timestamp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [Amanda](http://alarrylarrie.tumblr.com)! She requested a timestamp for [Drawn to You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6343798), which means this chapter is Larry aaaaand you probably want to read that fic first. Otherwise this doesn't really make sense, I'm sorry! Manda, I hope this fits what you were hoping for!
> 
> Please also note there are mentions of cancer and Jay's passing. They are short and not the focus, but I wanted you to be warned in case that is a problem for anyone. Please keep safe and feel free to send me a message [on Tumblr](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com) if you have any concerns.
> 
> I hope you like this silly, soft little thing, Manda!

“If you two are fucking in my fiance’s dressing room on my wedding day, I’m never forgiving you!”

Louis pulled back from Harry, taking in his disheveled form, and called back, “We’re not fucking, Lottie, God.” Louis made a face at Harry as they began tucking their shirts back in. They  _ hadn’t _ been, but they also weren’t too far away from mutual handjobs. That hadn’t been planned. Of course. It was his sister’s wedding day, they were better than that. “Besides,” he tacked on, “should you even be yelling the word ‘fucking’ inside of a church?”

“I’m the bride, I can say what I want. And you just said it twice, so you’re doing worse than me anyway!” she yelled with a bang on the door. “You two are already an old married couple, so do your fucking job and support me. I’m freaking out!”

“I’ll be there in a sec, love,” Louis called as he continued straightening himself out.

“And to think all we wanted was a quick snog,” Harry whispered with a chuckle. 

Louis snorted and ran his hands across the shoulders of Harry’s tuxedo shirt, making sure he once again looked pristine. “I better go and be the supportive brotherly figure she expects of me.”

Harry straightened Louis’ tie, gave a nod of approval, and then a quick peck on Louis’ lips. “You look perfect. Go tell her about all the things that went wrong with our wedding and then remind her how perfectly it still turned out. Hopefully that will calm her down.”

Smirking, Louis said, “I’m not going to tell her about the reason Liam and Zayn disappeared when we should have been taking wedding party photos. She may not be innocent, but she doesn’t need to know  _ that.” _

Harry swatted Louis on his bum and Louis scurried away, laughing. 

She called them an old married couple, and in a way they kind of were. They’d been married for over two years now. They originally were planning a wedding for the spring of 2017, but when Jay had been diagnosed with cancer, they both agreed to push it up so she could be there for it. They already knew they were each other’s forever, their soulmatch only confirmed it. Because of the push in schedule, the day of their wedding had been utter chaos, and Louis wouldn’t have changed a single thing about it. It would always be one of the best days of his life.

Louis swayed his hips in an exaggerated manner just because he knew Harry was watching. When Harry let out a loud whistle, Louis gasped and shot a faux outraged, “How very dare you!” over his shoulder, exaggerated wink and all. When he opened the door, he found Charles waiting for his own dressing room to be vacated. Wincing a bit, Louis waved to the room and said, “Sorry, mate. It’s all yours. Again.”

Charles rolled his eyes and then sauntered in. Louis could hear him and Harry chatting easily as Louis rushed over to where he knew he’d find Lottie.

As expected, Lottie was in her own dressing room touching up her makeup while Fizzy, Phoebe, and Daisy worked on their hair. Each of them looked so much more sophisticated than their young years usually allowed, and Louis had to admire the women they were growing up to be. Their mum would be so proud if she could see them.

“Look who finally decided to leave his husband for long enough to join us,” Fizzy teased, making eye contact through the mirror.

“I was doing nothing untoward with him, despite what Lottie accused,” Louis said with a sniff. “Now, how can I be of assistance.”

Lottie turned around, biting her lip and likely smudging the lipstick she just put on. “I’m scared, Lou.”

Lottie and Charles had decided to get married despite the fact they weren’t soulmates. They had a unique bond of their own, though, in that neither of them had had soulmate markings on their skin past childhood. They’d met at a support group for people who lost their soulmates before ever meeting them, and hit things off almost immediately. It wasn’t unheard of to marry a non-soulmatch, but it was fairly rare. 

That said, Lottie’s concern wasn’t unfounded. Divorce rates were fairly high for non-soulmatches, but Louis didn’t think that meant much. Just because you found your soulmate didn’t mean things were always easy either, and he did his best to remind Lottie of that as often as he could.

Wrapping her in a hug, Louis said, “Lotts, you and Charles are so special because of the love and affection you have for each other that grew separate of a soulmate bond. If you work hard to keep that going, I know you two will be just as happy as Harry and I are.”

“Not sure anyone can be as happy as you two,” Lottie whispered. “I see he’s drawing on you again. Couldn’t even stop for my wedding.”

Louis pulled back and looked at his left hand. Peeking out from under the dress shirt, pastel purple and pink baby rosebuds could be seen, closely matching the flowers decorating the church hall.

“At least it goes with your bouquet,” Louis said with a wink. “And happiness doesn’t just happen, love. You do have to work for it. You and Charles have been together for four years now. Mum adored him and the rest of us do too. He’s a good man who will do his best to always deserve you, and that’s all I could ask. If you never stop working on your relationship, I know you’ll last just as long as any of the rest of us.”

Lottie’s lip quivered and she began blowing annoyed breaths through her lips as she turned back towards the mirror and gently dabbed at her eyes. 

“I can’t have you making me cry before the ceremony has even begun.”

Louis smiled. “Sure I can, but I’ll try not to.”

Doing what he could to help through the chaos that led to the wedding starting, Louis was more than happy to make his way to the main hall of the church. In the end, it was all worth it as he escorted Lottie down the aisle, smiling proudly at Harry the whole way. He knew he could get through anything, even watching his sisters grow older and get married themselves, as long as he had Harry by his side and colorful drawings on his arms.


	3. Do You Believe (In Life After Love)?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Drabble is Ziam and for [Jacky](http://dimpled-halo.tumblr.com)! Her prompt for me was, and I quote, "I’m pretty much open to anything that will punch me in the gut" lollll SO This is my attempt at punching Jacky in the gut in only like 1300 words. It is also my first attempt at writing Ziam, so please be kind with me!
> 
> PS: The title of this chapter is indeed from Believe which was originally by Cher, but the _feel_ of it comes from Adam Lambert's rendition that he sang at the Kennedy Center Honors. If you haven't heard or seen it, please do so because it is hauntingly beautiful and I adored it. You can watch it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgJSid_2xG0).

Liam closed his eyes and leaned his head against the door to the flat. 

He’d been avoiding this. For a  _ lot _ of reasons, but mostly because there was a voice he was having a hard time ignoring that kept telling him he wasn’t strong enough to make it through this.

_ This.  _ Liam couldn’t even bring himself to say it. For seven years he’d built a life around the man he thought would be his forever. Their wedding day had been perfect, they were talking about adoption and had almost saved up enough for the down payment on a house when Chris announced he was leaving.

Liam had begged. He’d offered to do something,  _ anything,  _ if only Chris would stay.

Seven years. Gone in a matter of seconds.

Chris left the flat after breaking the news, saying he’d be back to get his things in a few days and that he’d leave the key in the mailbox. Liam couldn’t stand being in what had been their shared flat, their home, alone. He’d gone to Harry and Louis’ for a few days, but being surrounded by the kids and dogs and everything Liam had thought he was going to have for himself with Chris was more than he could handle.

Shawn and Niall had been much more of a reprieve like he’d needed, but being left to the devices of the voices in his mind during the day was almost too much too.  _ Is there life after love? A love like you had? That turned out to be so broken and rotted, without your even realizing it, that your husband left you? Is there? _

He spent the entire time wishing he could be numb in bed or sleeping on the couch because he didn’t feel like he deserved comfort.

Work understood. Or at least, they understood there was an emergency and he would be back on Monday. Liam was thankful for that, but also dreading going back in where the pictures of  _ him _ would be on his cubicle walls. Proof of the fact that Liam had thought they were happy. Maybe they had been. They certainly weren’t now. Or at least Liam wasn’t.

Finally standing up and daring to open the door he had unlocked at least ten minutes ago, Liam peeked inside and saw empty space.

The more Liam walked in, the more that rage began to supercede his pain and sadness. Chris had taken  _ everything. _ Pictures were left on the walls, books left piled on the floor, and the only furniture Liam could see in the entire front room and kitchen area of the flat was their dining table. Not even the fucking chairs.

Liam let the door slam shut and all caution he had moments before was gone as he went stomping through the flat. 

Chris hadn’t even left the  _ mattress. _ Liam’s clothes were laying in a pile on the floor because he had taken the hangers, the chest of drawers, all of it.

Shaking his head and doing all he possibly could to hold his temper back, Liam walked right back out of his flat, locked it, and decided to forego the lift. He needed to get the buzzing anger out somehow and the start of that could be by going down four sets of stairs.

Halfway down, Liam paused. Where was he planning to go? He was expected back at work on Monday. Liam couldn’t afford another train ticket or the cab required to get to Louis and Harry’s or Shawn and Niall’s. Even the local that Liam used to prefer was basically off limits now because Chris’ friends tended bar there.

Liam sat down on the stairs, all anger dissipated leaving the same all encompassing sadness and lingering pain in his heart and stomach. He felt so  _ heavy.  _

Thinking about finances for travel, Liam realized he would soon be paying for the flat on his own. He wouldn’t be able to afford that for long, not even with the savings built up. It would be like bleeding money. He’d have to put in a notice with the landlord and find a new place to live.

Maybe he’d finally be able to find a place closer to work. He’d wanted to do that for a few years, but Chris hadn’t been fond of the area, so Liam hadn’t ever even brought it up for discussion. 

Leaning his head into his hands, Liam decided he would think about it later. He was in no mental or physical state to be making such important decisions as figuring out his living circumstances and making a new budget. For now what he really needed to do was figure out what he was going to do for dinner as well as try to find something to sleep on. He was too old to sleep on a hardwood floor with just some blankets for padding.

What was he supposed to do with his life now? He used to think life was more than just his job, that everything revolved around the family he and Chris had created with the two of them. Everything he had pictured and created and imagined was now just gone. He needed to move on and he had no idea how. Where to start. 

“I’m so fucked,” Liam muttered as he dragged his hands down his face. When Liam finally gathered himself enough to look up from what looked to be gum ground into the step, he looked up and saw a man watching him warily.

“Sorry, am I blocking the way?” Liam asked, checking and finding he was sat right in the middle of the step too. Great. Who knew how long that guy had been there, waiting for him to move. He’d even been too polite to say anything. 

Liam was a disaster.

“It’s alright, I just. Are you okay?”

Snorting, Liam hefted himself up. “Not exactly. You don’t happen to have an air mattress or something I could borrow until I can replace the one my husband took with him when he left, would you?”

“Oh shit,” the man said.

Liam sighed. “Yeah. That’s the first time I’ve said it out loud, actually.” 

Shit. This man, who might not even live in the building but  _ could _ possibly be a neighbor, didn’t know who he was or care about Liam. Why was he spilling his incredibly personal details to a stranger on the stairs?

“I’m Zayn, by the way,” the man said, offering a soft smile. “I’m in 3C. I don’t have an air mattress, but I do have a futon you could sleep on, if you’d like.”

Liam’s eyes widened. “You’d do that for me? You’ve never met me. You don’t even know my name!”

Zayn shrugged. “Yeah, but you know mine and you look like you could use some help, so.”

“Liam,” Liam said quickly, finally standing and bringing himself to hold his hand out. “4D. But not for long. Uhm…” Liam ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve got to go get something to eat, but would your offer still be open in about half an hour?”

“Sure,” Zayn said, walking towards the door that led to his floor. “Or you could eat with me as well. I’ve got some of my mum’s cooking from when she visited yesterday.”

This man, this beautiful, kind man, was a stranger. Yet here he was offering not just a place for Liam to sleep, but also his mother’s food.

“This feels too good to be true. What’s the catch?”

Zayn laughed and his smile was so bright, Liam felt like it even reached some of the darkness that had been sitting inside him, untouchable for a week.

“Sometimes the only catch is that you’ve got to take a chance, yeah?”

Blinking, Liam nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Zayn opened the door and waited. Taking a deep breath, Liam decided to do it. If he was going to figure out if he could pull himself together after losing what he thought was the love of his life, he’d have to take a few chances. Hopefully this one would be worth it.


	4. Alan Carr's Got Nothing On You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Ziam ficlet for the amazing [Layne](http://laynefaire.tumblr.com)! She specifically requested that this happen in a "dog park - Liam's giant ass dog is playing fetch and crashes into Zayn". I...adjusted it a bit, I hope you don't mind, Layne! I took a story that was told by a listener on the radio when Alan Carr was on Grimmy's show and turned it into a Liam and Zayn story. Hope that works! haha
> 
> Love youuuuu! As with all of these, this is completely unbetaed and not brit picked, but in addition to that I know fuck all about dogs and have never actually been to Hyde Park. Please excuse any inaccuracies.

Zayn loved Hyde Park, but especially on days like today. It was a bit foggy, slightly damp, and with the way the trees came together to almost trap the mist, it made Zayn feel like he had been transported to one of the stories he had read as a child. A little dark, a slight feeling of being haunted, but never with anything truly dangerous on the other side.

Every chance he had, Zayn walked through Hyde Park. It often made his commute home even longer, but he didn’t mind. A chance to get out walking, as long as the weather wasn’t truly awful, was perfect for him. It allowed him to decompress after a long day. Revamp after too much time with people being overly demanding of his time and abilities.

Zayn had closed out early today. He’d worked enough hours earlier and was scheduled to work ten hours tomorrow, so his boss gave him permission to leave at lunch. He’d thought his chances of a walk through the park were slim this morning, as it was meant to start raining around three and continue through the weekend. Getting out early allowed him the time for a good walk before the downpour started.

Emerging from a copse of trees into one of the large green spaces, Zayn felt drizzle already starting, so he pulled his umbrella out of his bag. He had to pause walking for a moment to make sure he didn’t upset his balance of bags. He had his laptop in one and several clients’ papers in the other, and while they should be fine if they were dropped, he didn’t want to chance it.

Bags firmly on his shoulders and umbrella held high to keep him dry, Zayn continued on, trying to take note of where the large puddles were. He’d worn his nice boots today and would rather not worry about ruining the leather with a dip into some water.

Zayn was just over halfway to the next copse of trees when some movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Turning to look closer, Zayn squinted and saw what looked to be a large black dog bolting. It was headed somewhere behind Zayn, so he wasn’t too concerned, but he was worried about a loose dog. A loose  _ large _ dog. 

Honestly, the dog was probably closer to resembling a horse.

Zayn continued walking, albeit a little slower now, as he tried to keep an eye on the dog and see if he could find any human at least somewhat attached to it.

Just as Zayn was about to go searching in the direction the dog had come from, nice work boots be damned, he saw a person running as fast as they could after the dog. It sounded like they were yelling something, but he couldn’t quite make out what.

Giving up on continuing towards the tube station, Zayn turned to watch the dog and found the dog was now headed directly towards him.

Shit. No. He was alright with smaller dogs, but what was he supposed to do when a dog that could easily trample him was headed right in his direction?

“Stop that dog!”

Oh, that made sense. The man was yelling instructions at anyone who might hear. Unfortunately for him, Zayn was quite literally the only other person in the park that he could see right now. Between the weather and the time of day, things weren’t really in this man’s favor.

“Please! Stop the dog! Watson, halt!”

Zayn tried to figure out what to do. How does one stop a dog that probably weighs more than they do? Watson, assuming that was the dog’s name, was sure coming towards him at a fast clip, too.

“Watson, stop! Heel!” Heel was something dog owners said to their dogs, right? “Halt?” Zayn also tried, although even to himself he sounded less than confident. There was no way a command like that was going to get this dog to stop.

“Watson! You fucking prick, stop at once!”

Zayn tried not to laugh at the language the owner had resorted to between his heavy panting. The man yelled and continued running towards the dog, but that brought Zayn’s attention to the fact the dog really wasn’t slowing down and it really was headed right towards him.

“Shit, no no no no no,” Zayn said, getting louder and louder as he backed up into the spongy grass behind him as the dog got closer and closer and…

Well. The dog lunged at Zayn.

Zayn braced for impact, both from the dog and from the ground, and was pleased that the spongy soil helped soften the blow a bit. He had his eyes closed and his arms up to protect him from the dog as he and his bags sprawled onto the ground. He didn’t even know if his umbrella was nearby still or if it had blown away with the breeze. It didn’t matter now that he was completely soaked through and waiting for Watson to bite his jugular.

“Woah, woah, woah! Watson, get off that man at once!” the owner commanded. The dog didn’t get off Zayn, but he didn’t bite at him either. In fact, the dog was licking his face and neck in a way that tickled quite a bit.

Unable to stop the laughter that came as a result, the dog seemed to be spurred on until, suddenly, it was no longer on top of Zayn.

“Oh my God, I am so incredibly sorry,” the man said. 

Zayn opened his eyes a little and saw the owner not only had the dog in hand, but was also attaching a strong looking lead to the dog’s collar.

“He has never run from me like that before, I am so sorry. Oh God, look at your clothes. He’s completely ruined them. I’ll absolutely pay for the dry cleaning, and if they’re destroyed I’ll...well, I probably can’t afford new ones as nice as what you’re wearing, but I’d do my best.”

The man kept babbling as he offered Zayn a hand to stand back up. Zayn’s first priority once standing was to check on his laptop and paperwork, to ensure they were both dry and his laptop hopefully undamaged. Once he made sure of all of that, he looked back up.

The man had stopped talking at some point and his wide brown eyes made him look like an earnest puppy himself. 

“Please tell me what I can do to make this situation at least somewhat less horrifying,” he begged.

Zayn started chuckling and then began laughing harder and harder, especially when he saw his umbrella was flying across the park on its own. There was no way he was going to get that back.

“Mate, it’s totally fine,” Zayn said, brushing himself off. “Though I might take you up on that dry clean.”

The man started nodding fervently and checked his pockets before handing over his phone. “I don’t have any business cards on me right now, but here. Give me your number and I’ll get back with you. I swear I will.”

Zayn gave him his number, unsure whether the man would actually keep his word or not, but he hoped he would. He wouldn’t mind keeping in contact with him.

“Zayn? I love that name. I’m Liam, by the way,” the man said, holding out the hand not keeping hold of Watson’s lead. “And you’ve already met Watson. I’m really so sorry.”

Shaking Liam’s hand, Zayn said, “It really is okay, Liam, but I should probably go get out of the rain and these wet clothes now. I’ll be waiting for your text tonight, though.”

Liam nodded, gave a small smile, and started getting dragged in another direction by Watson. Neither of them turned away from each other for a few moments. 

A warmth started to grow within Zayn despite the cold drizzle and his entirely muddied backside. Maybe Zayn would have reason to thank Watson for their clumsy meeting in the park one day. 


	5. Who Tells Your Story Timestamp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!! This drabble is for the super sweet [greatpemberly](http://greatpemberly.tumblr.com)! It is also Larry AND another timestamp ahha this one is a little more complicated, though, so while you _can_ read it without being familiar with Who Tells Your Story, I'm not sure I recommend it. It is longer and a bigger dedication, though, so feel free to give it a try even if you aren't familiar haha
> 
> For those who are curious where this fits in with the story, while it references a conversation Louis and Niall have around a third of the way into the fic, this particular timestamp takes place very near the end. They've just had the texting conversation about being boyfriends and this sneaks in right before the fic shows Louis in LA doing finishing edits on the documentary. 
> 
> Okay! I hope you enjoy! Please note, once again, this has not been betaed and please be kind. Thank you!!

Louis sniffles and rolls over towards Harry’s side of the bed only to find it empty. It’s still warm, so he hasn’t been gone long, but Harry is still missing and Louis doesn’t like waking up in his boyfriend’s bed with said boyfriend missing.

Louis can’t help but smile a little even as his eyes are still closed. He’s not sure he’ll ever get used to calling Harry his boyfriend, but he loves it all the same.

Sitting up, Louis looks around and finds it is still fairly early, but later than Louis had meant to sleep. He and Harry wanted to have breakfast together before the car Jeff is sending arrives, and that’s only supposed to be in an hour. 

Rushing to brush his teeth and make himself otherwise presentable, Louis walks into the kitchen and finds Harry making what looks to be omelettes.

“You making me breakfast in the super fancy kitchen of your super fancy house?” Louis teases, his voice sounding rough with the morning. 

Harry looks over his shoulder and smiles. “Yep, adding only red and yellow bell peppers, just how you requested, too. No green ones.”

“Green ones are the worst,” Louis says as he wraps his arms around Harry’s waist and leans his forehead against Harry’s shoulder. “I suppose this makes up for waking up alone in your bed.”

Harry chuckles softly, but doesn’t say anything either.

Pulling away in pursuit of coffee, Louis tries two wrong cabinets before he finds the one holding the mugs. 

“I’ll figure my way around your kitchen yet,” Louis says triumphantly with a smile.

He happily settles down at the table and watches Harry work for a minute before a conversation he had with Niall back in Vermont comes to his mind.

“Do you talk to Niall about me?” Louis asks before taking a sip of coffee.

Snorting, Harry says, “Of course I talk to Niall about you. He’s one of my best friends and he was working on the project with us. It was kind of hard to avoid you as a topic, actually.”

“Yeah, but I mean like  _ before,”  _ Louis continues. “The first night I was in Vermont, before any of the rest of the team had made it, Niall caught us texting and said something that implied you couldn’t stop talking about me.”

Harry’s movements slow slightly before he turns off the heat and moves the second omelette to a plate. When he turns to open the fridge, Louis can see a red flush on Harry’s cheeks, but he still isn’t saying anything.

“Oh, come on,” Louis says, getting more excited by the moment. The longer Harry puts off telling Louis the details, the more Louis begins to think the things Harry said to Niall might have been far more revealing than anticipated.

“Niall’s a dead man,” is what Harry finally says as he sets the plates on the table along with salsa, extra cheese, and a few other toppings Louis doesn’t care about. 

“He might be, but you still haven’t told me what I’m wanting to know.”

Harry narrows his eyes and asks, “Why does it matter? That was weeks ago, it’s embarrassing, and we’re together now anyway.”

“Yeah, but see, I wanna know what my boyfriend thought of me when we first met,” Louis says as he spoons some salsa onto his omelette. “I know what he thinks now and I’m pretty sure he knows what I thought back then, but I want to know what had him talking to his best pal so much.”

“You’re annoying as fuck in the morning,” Harry says, still looking unimpressed before taking a bite. “I thought you don’t like mornings?”

“Yeah, but technically it’s two hours later in Chicago, and after traveling all over the time zones of our glorious country the past month or so, my body doesn’t have a fucking clue what is going on.” Louis shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. I’ve got energy for another relentless day of editing today and that’s all that matters. That and what my boyfriend thought of me when we first met.”

Sighing, Harry runs his fingers through his hair and quietly says, “It’s embarrassing.”

“Oh, I’m sure. That’s kind of why I’m pressuring you to tell me.” Louis smiles as innocently as he can at Harry, causing him to roll his eyes and Louis knows. He’s won.

“I might have talked a lot about your eyes. And cheekbones. And how smart you are and, at one very low point right after meeting you, I might have also read the entire list of your documentary achievements during a phone call.”

“Oh my God.” Louis is unable to hold back his laughter anymore, so he giggles a little and tries to calm himself enough to take a sip of coffee. “Did you really?”

“I like to know the most I can about the people I will be associating with,” Harry says, obviously defensive. “I had done my research so I could know if it was just because you were pretty or if the video really was well made enough. Plus I had to make sure you had the experience before I put my neck on the line with Irving and convinced him to offer this opportunity to you. I was excited!”

“I’m glad you were,” Louis says, watching as Harry’s arms wave around more and more as he let his omelette go cold. 

“I felt like something with the documentary was finally going right and then I met you and you were even more beautiful in person and I thought maybe we flirted a little bit that day? But I wasn’t sure. I just knew I was giddy and excited and confused and just knew I wanted to get to know you better. So I talked to Niall about it. A lot. And it is embarrassing, but also you deserve to be talked about, so I don’t regret it. Just so you know.”

Louis’ smile is so big by the time Harry finally stops talking that his cheeks are hurting a little bit.

“What?” Harry asks, sitting back in his seat while also hooking his foot around Louis’ ankle. “You’re looking at me funny.”

Louis shakes his head and says, “I just really love you. That’s all.”

“Oh,” Harry says, shifting around in his seat a little bit. “Well thank you. And I love you too.”

Louis’ phone dings with a text from the car service right as he’s turning his main focus back to his omelette and learns the car has just arrived.

“Shit,” Louis mutters before shoveling the rest of Harry’s perfect omelette in his mouth. “That was delicious. Thank you for breakfast. I’ll see you later tonight.”

Standing up and rushing around the table, Louis smacks a quick kiss to Harry’s forehead before gathering his bags and heading to the door.

“Have a good day! Love you!” Harry yells as Louis closes the front door behind him. 

As Louis gets settled in the back seat and thanks the driver for waiting, Louis pulls out his phone.

_ Boyfriend: Best of wives and best of women _

_ Hazza: That’s the worst line you could have chosen since it was right before he goes off to die, but I appreciate the sentiment anyway.  _

_ Hazza: Don’t cry too much while cutting away scenes you love, I’ll come by this evening if I can. xx _

 


	6. Melt Into Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!! This soft little established relationship drabble was written for [feministlarry](http://feministlarry.tumblr.com)! It is a Larry drabble and the request was this:
> 
> "established relationship for sure.. ummm whenever louis is /soft/ and sweet or gentle is nice.. chaotic rebellious louis is fun but i like seeing him fluffy and cuddly...if it could be possible to get some of louis playing with harry's hair that would be amazing"
> 
> I tried to get everything in there for you, so I hope you like it!

Harry kicked off his shoes and didn’t even remove his coat before he walked into the living room and crawled into Louis’ lap. He was straddling Louis, curled up as small as he could get, and he tucked his face into Louis’ neck.

“It was such a long fucking day,” Harry whined. “Please don’t make me cook dinner.”

Louis gently rubbed his hand up and down Harry’s back as he hummed. “I’m sorry it was such a long day.”

Harry sighed and tried to let his tension leave his body, but he was wound so tight he wanted to cry. His project was almost over, and he couldn’t wait until it was. The stress was definitely getting to him now.

“How about this,” Louis said softly. “How about we go out to Abner’s for a quick bite and then go see a movie? There’s that one that’s got like the reincarnated dog or whatever that you’ve been wanting to see. Plus, Dennis Quaid. I know you’ve got a little crush on him and his gorgeous arms. Whatcha say?”

“I’ll do it only if we go to the one with the recliners where we can lift up the armrests. I need cuddles.”

Harry felt Louis nod and shift around. He assumed Louis was pulling his phone out, so he didn’t whine and just allowed Louis to move him how he needed. Harry had almost dozed off still wearing his winter coat all curled up in Louis’ lap when Louis said, “There’s a showing at 8:50. If you get changed and we head over to Abner’s now, we should be able to make it no problem.”

Sighing, Harry nodded and slowly extracted himself from Louis. Finally looking Louis in the face, Harry said, “Hi,” softly before leaning in for a quick kiss. “I love you. I’ve missed you. Thank you for understanding me.”

Louis smirked. “Of course, darling. Now let’s get you changed into something comfy and then we can get you some of your corned beef hash and whatever other greasy goodness you desire.”

Harry hummed and did as Louis said. Less than an hour later, Harry was full and already starting to feel better. Abner’s didn’t have the best food out there, but it was a darker and quieter atmosphere and the workers were always friendly. It was one of those places that even when Harry was feeling overwhelmed, he knew he would be okay there. Tonight was no different.

Rubbing his belly a little, Louis groaned and signed the check. “Alright, babe. Ready to head over to the theater?”

Harry sleepily checked the time on his phone. “Yeah, if we leave now we should get there right on time. You bought the tickets earlier, right?”

Louis nodded as he stood up and put on his coat. “Sure did. Got us middle of the back row, just like you like.”

“I’m so glad you’re my person,” Harry said. He was so tired his speech was almost slurring. There was no guarantee he was going to make it through this entire film, but he knew Louis would wake him up if he started snoring or when it was over.

“I’m glad I’m your person too,” Louis replied with a smile as he held out his hand for Harry to take.

It was a quick drive to the theater, and Louis scritched his fingers in Harry’s hair exactly how he liked it until it was time to park. Harry practically whined when Louis had to take his hand back in order to maneuver into the spot, but knew if he wanted him to, Louis would continue his ministrations once they were settled in the theater.

Forgoing any concessions, they quickly found their seats. Harry sat on the right like he always did, immediately lifted the armrest between them, and laid his seat back as far as it would go. Louis chuckled and once his own seat was back, lifted his arm. 

“Come on over, love. I know you want to.”

Harry smiled and curled up on his side so his shoulder was nudged in Louis’ underarm and his head perfectly cushioned on the soft spot just below Louis’ shoulder. It was his favorite place to snuggle in on Louis, and Louis knew it. It also gave Louis the perfect angle to be able to play with Harry’s hair. 

Every muscle in his body was slowly relaxing, automatically letting more and more defenses down the longer he was close to Louis. It was automatic for him now, like if he was in close proximity to Louis, somehow everything would be okay. 

Louis’ fingers slowly wound their way through Harry’s hair, helping him to let go of the stress even more. Between the dark theater, the full belly, the stress from work that had been wearing him down for weeks, and Louis’ soothing touch on his scalp, Harry had no hope of lasting through the movie.

His eyes growing heavier and heavier, He made it until the movie started, but only lasted about fifteen minutes before he completely fell asleep.

In the end, he slept through the rest of the movie quietly before Louis gently maneuvered him back to their car and, after dozing through the ride home too, into the house and to bed.

It was the best night’s rest Harry had gotten for weeks.


	7. Gently, Softly, Deeply

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy! This drabble was written for [missytearex](http://missytearex.tumblr.com) and I'm actually super excited about it. It is Larry for the pairing.
> 
> The request was: girl direction, oblivious girls in love, awkward harry and sunshine louis
> 
> So with that, here we go! I hope you like it!!

It had all started with an iced green tea lemonade. An iced green tea lemonade and a watch. Well, an iced green tea lemonade and the very distinct  _ lack _ of a watch. 

It was complicated, and yet at the same time it very much was not. Harry was just horrifically awkward and shouldn’t be allowed to traverse social situations on her own.

It had been a rotten, absolutely no good, horrible Tuesday, but Harry had remembered to grab her super cute venti personal cup before she left this morning, so at least there was that. It was like her subconscious knew how rough work would be that day and told her to grab the venti instead of her usual grande.

She  _ needed _ that iced green tea lemonade to chase away her woes. Especially since some of her woes involved giving up the all too expensive chai lattes she was addicted too as well as anything and everything related to coffee. It’s been a rough January in general so far, but she’d been holding out because work was going incredibly well.

Until this rotten, absolutely no good, horrible Tuesday. And fate wasn’t quite done with her yet.

Harry heard her name and saw her super cute personal venti cup filled with the nectar she so desperately needed to treat herself to, so she rushed over and grabbed it, taking it over towards the napkin station to put her lid on. She hadn’t quite gotten that far, though, because the man at the station was adding a lot more cinnamon that was strictly advised to his drink. She was about to put the straw and lid on without setting it down first rather than waiting, but then the most gorgeous girl she’d ever seen in her entire life walked up to her.

The girl had a slouchy beanie on and her eyes rimmed with dark, smudged eyeliner done in the way Harry always tried to get hers done, but never achieved. It was okay. At least this girl rocked it well enough for the both of them. And she was wearing bright purple lipstick. She was Harry’s goals to be achieved and somehow she already knew she wanted to take home to her mom as well, and for some reason this girl came right up to Harry.

She came right up to Harry, touched her on the arm gently, and said, “I’m sorry, do you happen to have the time?”

“Oh,” Harry said. “Of course!”

And then. Then, Harry destroyed any chance she ever had of going on a date with this beautiful girl by turning her wrist to look at her watch. The wrist she turned just happened to be connected to the very full, very cold, and very wet venti iced green tea lemonade she had just purchased and not gotten her lid on just yet.

The creme de la creme? Harry wasn’t even wearing a watch. Harry  _ never _ wore a watch. She hadn’t even  _ owned _ a watch since probably the fifth grade, and yet she’d gone and dumped her entire drink down her front because of a stupidly pretty girl asking for the time and that was apparently enough to shortwire her brain into looking at her wrist for the time instead of her phone.

So yeah. It all started with that. Louis had felt bad enough when Harry burst into tears over the loss of her drink (as well as the loss of any chance she might have had with the stunning Louis) that she bought Harry a new one and they exchanged numbers. 

That was two years ago, and unfortunately Harry hadn’t improved any when she was around Louis. She always had been a bit bumbling when it came to interacting with people, but Louis always made it worse. 

Liam thought it was adorable, but Liam and her punk ass self could shove it as she went and spent the night with Zayn.  _ Again.  _ Despite claiming they weren’t dating. No one believed their claims, especially Harry.

Niall kept telling Harry to just ask Louis out, and Harry repeatedly asked her why she wasn’t bothering her own best friend about that instead of Harry, because Harry couldn’t even ask for Louis’ favorite dessert without losing her chill. 

Shawn at least just sat in the corner, creepily smiling at Harry everytime she came to visit their apartment. Harry liked Shawn. She liked Shawn a lot. She’d just like Shawn a lot more if she’d stop watching her so intently and focus on her girlfriend a bit more.

“Lou?” Harry asked as she swiped at her hair again. 

She was meant to be showing Louis how easy it was to make no bake cookies, but Louis had disappeared almost as soon as Harry had shown up and left her alone in the kitchen. She’d forgotten a hair tie, which was a definite mistake, but it was at the point where she couldn’t stop stirring the chocolate mixture or it wouldn’t turn out right. 

“Lou, can you bring me a hair tie, please?”

Huffing a little in frustration, Harry eyed the timer. Thirty five seconds. She could last, but hair might end up in these cookies, and if it did it wasn’t her fault.

“Sorry,” Louis said, breathing a little heavily. 

Harry looked over her shoulder and froze. Including her stirring, which was bad. She got back on that as soon as she could and blinked quickly. Louis was wearing an oversized crop top and, despite being mid January in the midwest, her tummy was still lightly tanned and flat and soft looking and Harry wanted to nuzzle her belly button. Just a little bit.

“What did you need?”

The timer went off and Harry turned off the heat, added in the last of the ingredients she already had measured, and once she was stirring again, she said, “Can you help me pull my hair back? I forgot a hair tie, and this all has to happen pretty quickly so I don’t want to pause to do it myself.”

“Oh, okay,” Louis said, quickly. “You want one of your high ponytail buns?”

Harry cleared her throat. “Uh. Yes, please.”

The moment Louis’ fingers began running through her hair, gently bringing it together at the top of Harry’s head, she couldn’t help her eyes falling closed. Her stirring slowed again as well. Everything did, maybe even time itself.

Louis made quick work of it and said a cheerful, “Ta da!” when she was done. When she did, Harry made the stupid mistake of looking over her shoulder again.

Louis was so bright, standing in that freezing cold kitchen in her adorable crop top doing jazz hands, Harry could barely function.

“Thanks,” Harry choked out, before turning and realizing she needed to spoon the mixture onto the wax paper before it hardened in the pot. “Shit,” she muttered and moved over to the counter.

She quickly spooned it all out, making around eighteen normal sized cookies and two very large ones. She moved the pot into the sink and started filling it with hot water and dishwashing liquid to let it soak when Louis cleared her throat.

“H?”

“Yeah?” Harry looked over and tried to ignore the bare tummy of her favorite girl. It was hard, but she was able to look up at Louis’ always smoky rimmed eyes.

“Would you…” Louis chuckled a little and raised her arm to scratch at the back of her head. Not fair, her hair was always the short, chunky messy that looked incredible and Harry could never achieve, and now she was baring even more of her midsection, and Harry was going to  _ die. _

“Would I?” Harry prompted.

“Just ask the damn question before we all pass out from the constant sexual tension in this apartment!”

Harry blinked. “Was that Shawn?” she asked. Shawn never talked like that, but it wasn’t Niall.

“It was, and  _ fine but I’m doing this for me and not for you, asshole!”  _ Louis yelled back towards the hall. Taking a big breath and giving Harry a nervous smile, Louis started again. “Sorry. I just. Would you like to go on a date with me?”

Harry dropped her spoon with a clang. “Really?” she asked, surprised. Her hands were wet and her hair was lopsided and she was flushed, but honestly it was still better than her iced green tea lemonade all down her front. “I mean, yes. Yes, Louis. I had no idea you might...yes. Of course. Always.”

Louis looked at Harry in a way that just made Harry flush more, but her smile was bright and  _ that _ at least Harry was familiar with. 

“I like the sound of always,” Louis whispered, biting her lip.

“Thank fuck,” Shawn said right before the door slammed shut, leaving the two of them in silence with their no bake cookies.


	8. Leave the Dog(s) At Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are today! This little drabble was written for the wonderful [Lynda](http://wait4ever.tumblr.com)! 
> 
> This pairing is Ziam and her request was to see Zayn and Liam's first date in the 'verse I set up in Chapter 4's drabble [Alan Carr's Got Nothing On You"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17433383/chapters/41119754#workskin). In fact, this starts only a few hours after that one, so be sure you've read it! hehe 
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Thank you!

_ Unknown Number: Hey, Zayn. It’s Liam, from the park? _

Zayn smiled fondly at his phone. It had only been a couple of hours since he’d gotten home, but he was glad Liam hadn’t waited any longer to message him either.

Adding the number to Zayn’s contacts, Zayn was about to respond when another several messages came through.

_ Liam: I don’t know why I said that as a question _ _   
_ _ Liam: You obviously haven’t forgotten such an experience as being trampled by a great dane _ _   
_ __ Liam: It isn’t something one easily forgets, I would imagine

Zayn bit his lip and scrunched his nose a little. He didn’t share his flat with anyone, but if he couldn’t contain his affection when alone, then he didn’t have a chance when actually face to face with Liam.

Not that they were going to meet again, but Zayn hoped at some point that would happen.

_ Liam: Not that I know that from personal experience other than when Watson is just excited because I’m home _ _   
_ _ Liam: But even that is different because I expect it _ _   
_ __ Liam: Why am I still talking, I’m so sorry. Feel free to ignore all of these messages if you’d like and only contact me when you have the dry cleaning bill

Finally letting out a chuckle, Zayn started typing as fast as he could.

_ Zayn: If you’d give me a chance to answer, I’d let you know that I don’t mind _ _   
_ _ Zayn: But yes, I definitely remember you. Thanks for texting, I wasn’t positive you were going to, but I hoped you would. _

Zayn hoped he wasn’t coming on too strong, but he did think the attraction was mutual. Liam seemed just as interested in Zayn in the park as Zayn had been in him. He had been wrong before, though.

Getting off the couch to make himself a tea, Zayn pulled his jumper sleeves over his hands. Ever since landing on his arse in the rain at the park, he’d had a hard time getting warm again.

_ Liam: Oh, good. I hoped you wouldn’t mind either _ _   
_ _ Liam: And please feel free to tell me to fuck off if you’re not interested, but I was hoping you would be, but it is entirely okay if you’re not _ _   
_ __ Liam: I actually am texting so soon because I don’t often have evenings off but it turns out I do tonight, so I was hoping you might be interested in meeting up for dinner

Zayn didn’t even turn on the kettle after reading that. He immediately looked down at his ratty gray sweatpants and the old maroon jumper he’d had for ages. Comfortable, but not exactly clothes for impressing anyone.

All the same. He wasn’t going to leave Liam stressing about taking a chance and asking him out on a date.

Wait. It was a date, right?

_ Zayn: Do you mean meet for dinner as in a date? Or just dinner? _

Liam, in all his earnestness, began typing his response right away. Zayn didn’t remember ever having someone reply so quickly by text, but he liked it. Quite a bit.

_ Liam: Yes, I was hoping it could be a date, but again it is very much alright if you aren’t interested _

Zayn let out a tiny, miniscule, absolutely manly squeal and replied just as quickly as Liam had before.

_ Zayn: I would be very interested _ _   
_ _ Zayn: I just got into joggers though, where were you thinking? And when? _

He walked back to his bedroom and began looking at what he had clean. It was almost his laundry Saturday, so truly he didn’t have much available. It was incredibly unfortunate, but the ratty joggers and old jumper might be the best option he had. Besides, the man had already seen him in a mud covered suit, so it wasn’t like he could get worse.

_ Liam: I could wear joggers too, if you’d like! _ _   
_ _ Liam: I was thinking we could just go to my local. Or yours. Someplace casual to get to know each other better, if that’s alright with you. _ _   
_ __ Liam: And is as soon as possible too desperate for you?

Smiling and heading back to the door to put his layers back on, Zayn typed a quick response.

_ Zayn: Tell me where and I’ll head over now. _

Twenty minutes later had Zayn walking into a pub he wasn’t familiar with, but it was alright because it was mostly empty. He appreciated quiet spaces, and this one seemed relaxed enough to suit his inclinations.

“Zayn.”

Turning to the side, Zayn saw Liam sitting at a small round table in the corner. He had a pint sitting in front of him as well as a water.

“I’m afraid I wasn’t sure what drink to get for you, so I didn’t order ahead. What would you like me to get?”

Zayn smiled. “I’ve actually got an early day at the office tomorrow, so I’d be better off with just some water, thank you.”

Liam gently moved the water over towards Zayn, looking pleased with himself. “Then I suppose I did order ahead for you after all.”

Zayn took a sip and looked at the menu. “What’s good here?”

“Oh, pretty much everything, but I love their pies. I think I’m going to go for a sausage roll myself tonight, though.”

Zayn hummed and looked around. “The shepherd’s pie does look tasty. I think I’ll go for that tonight.”

Liam jumped up and gave Zayn a smile before leaving to place their order.

Leaning his chin on his hand, Zayn watched Liam. There was something about the man he couldn’t quite pin down, but that was so different from pretty much anyone he’d met since moving to London. It was almost an openness. A vulnerable sincerity, like he wasn’t hiding his wants and desires, like most everyone Zayn had met in the city was prone to do. Liam just laid himself bare, even to a near stranger like Zayn. It was admirable and lovely, but it also made Zayn want to protect him from anyone who might take that away from him.

Once Liam returned to the table, Zayn smiled. “I half expected Watson to come tonight as well.”

“Oh no,” Liam said, shaking his head. “That bastard got a talking to. No more walks in the park for at least a week and he’s being kept in separate rooms from the others as well.”

Zayn’s eyes widened. “Others? You have more than one dog?”

“Oh yeah,” Liam said, smiling so wide, his eyes were like slits. “Watson’s usually the calm one, even. Can you believe? The others are smaller and far more prone to get into trouble, but he was the one who ran away from the doggie play date today.”

Zayn laughed. “Wow. You’ve got your hands full.”

Liam shrugged. “Do you like animals then?”

Zayn smiled and nodded. “I’ve never had a pet or anything, there wasn’t room in our house growing up and I don’t feel like I can take care of one with as demanding as my job is at the moment, but I do love animals.”

From there, their conversation was easy and relaxed. Dinner turned into going out for dessert before reluctantly saying goodnight due to Zayn’s early morning. 

They already had plans for Saturday brunch, though, and Zayn could tell this was just the beginning. Watson was definitely going to get that  _ thank you _ after all.


	9. Safety Nest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo! This drabble was written for [Emmu](http://londonfoginacup.tumblr.com)! The pairing is Larry.
> 
> Her prompt was "Homeless and hybrid. Do what you will." And this happened. I hope you like it, dearest Emmu!

Louis needed a nest.

He was cold, he was wet, he could barely feel the end of his tail, and shelter was also something he was going to need for the night. But more than any of those, Louis needed a nest.

His nest specifically. He needed a nest that was his. But he didn’t have one.

Louis kept pacing the alley he’d hidden in when another shop owner had found him picking through the bins for food. He wasn’t trying to cause a ruckus, he was just trying not to die. 

Luckily, he’d found enough to keep his stomach from hurting too badly (at least until morning) before he was run off, but now was the issue of a nest.

He’d had a nest. Kind of. It was a workable nest for Louis’ needs. But he’d lost it. Or, well, it had been taken from him. All the same, it was a nest he no longer had.

The sky lit up with lightning and Louis jumped. 

He hated storms. He’d been skittish around them from the time he was a kitten, but ever since he’d been kicked out of his owner’s house for growing too large a few months ago, Louis had been especially fearful. Not having a roof over his head did that.

Tail wrapped tightly against his midsection and hands coming up to protect his overly sensitive cat ears, Louis curled up as small as he possibly could against the brick wall lining one side of the alley and did his best to ignore the flashes of light in the sky.

He had constructed his last nest out of old cardboard boxes and lined it with scraps of cloth he had been able to find as he went around from day to day. He’d even been lucky enough to find an entire wool scarf that was just the right balance of soft to sleep on and scratch to take care of the itches he always had on his back due to a lack of a decent shower. But there was no use dwelling on the past.

A particularly loud crash of thunder was too much to ignore, and Louis let out a squeaky meow before he tucked himself even smaller than he had been before. Maybe he could just stay here tonight. At least with the wall behind him, he felt safe. Kind of.

“Hey, what’s…”

Louis froze. He hadn’t heard anyone enter the alleyway. He thought it was a mostly deserted one that would allow him to remain without being found, but he’d been here less than ten minutes now and already someone had come to run him off.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” the voice asked, and it truly sounded concerned. Not harsh or angry like voices often were towards Louis. After all, since he wasn’t a claimed pet anymore. Most people wouldn’t want him anywhere near them.

Keeping his head tucked down in his knees, Louis allowed his hands to uncover his ears so they could turn towards the man who was slowly coming towards him. 

“You’re soaking wet. Do you have a home?”

Louis was picking up the man’s scent now. It was minty, a little leathery, and clean. Fresh.

He smelt safe.

Chancing a look up, Louis peeked around his wet fringe and saw a man crouched down a few feet in front of him.

“Hey, yeah. There you are. Are you okay?”

His voice was so deep, so slow. It was like wrapping Louis up in a bit of a vocal blanket. He really wanted a blanket right now.

Louis cleared his throat and said, “I’m scared.”

The man’s brows furrowed. “Of me?”

Louis shook his head. “The storm. I don’t have a nest. I don’t know where to find a nest.”

The man ran his hand through his short hair that was very quickly getting drenched. “Okay, listen. I can’t promise you’ll be able to stay for longer than the night, it depends on my flatmate, but you’re more than welcome to come clean up and dry off at my place. I’ll even let you use some of my things to make a nest for tonight so you feel safe during the storm. Alright?”

Blinking at the man, Louis was confused. His owner didn’t even let him use his things for a nest. Why would this  _ stranger _ let Louis do it? Was there something more to the offer? Was Louis going to get there and find out it wasn’t safe at all?

Then again, did he have anything to lose? He didn’t have a home, an owner, or a nest. He was just a wet, cold cat, scared outside during a storm.

“I don’t mean to rush you or anything, but the rain’s getting worse.”

Louis stood up and took his tail in hand. Maybe his hands would be warm enough, even as cold as they were, to help his tail regain feeling as they walked.

It was only a few streets over before the man, Harry, led Louis up some stairs to a plain door. He opened it and let Louis in. Louis almost cried from relief when he felt the warmth.

It was clean and dry and smelled like dried flowers and vanilla, too. It was everything he’d been craving and wanting but that he felt unable to allow himself to wish for.

“If you come this way, you can use the shower. I’ll set some clothes out for you. They’ll be too big, but they’ll be warm and dry and that’s most important. Okay?”

Louis nodded, arms still wrapped tightly around himself, but everything about Harry and the kindness he’d shown so far was telling Louis it was okay. 

“Here you go,” Harry said, handing him a fluffy towel that Louis immediately rubbed against his face. It felt so luxurious to hold something so clean, so  _ soft,  _ up to his bare skin. “Clean on up and we can talk more after.”

Louis nodded and waited to move again until after Harry had closed the bathroom door. 

Enjoying his first shower in at least a few months, Louis stayed under the water until it got cold. The clothes were just as large as Harry had warned they would be, but Louis hadn’t felt clean clothes against his skin in long enough he couldn’t bring himself to care less.

When he finally emerged from the bathroom, Louis saw Harry and another man he hadn’t met yet standing and talking in the hall.

“Louis, this is Liam, my flatmate.”

Louis waved and said a quiet, “Hi.”

“Hey, nice to meet you,” Liam said. “I’ve had a long day and have to be back at work early tomorrow, so I’ll see you later. Nice meeting you, though.”

Liam offered a kind smile as he passed Louis in the hallway. He felt safe too. Louis would be okay sleeping in an unfamiliar flat with almost strangers if it was just Harry and Liam. Hopefully.

“So, I thought I’d give you a few choices, just because I don’t know what you’re used to,” Harry said, starting to walk closer to the couch and show the spaces he was offering Louis. “You are more than welcome to sleep in here on the couch or the floor as you see fit, but if you’re worried about the open spaces and prefer sleeping closer to people, you can also sleep in my room. I don’t have any extra furniture for you to sleep on, but if you like the floor then that’s an option?”

“Can I…” Louis bit his lip. He’d always slept in the room with his owner on the floor. He’d always been an affectionate cat and he liked the close proximity, even if he wasn’t allowed on the bed. Just being near someone again for one night would be like heaven for Louis.

“Please feel free to ask for what you want,” Harry said gently. 

Louis pursed his lips. “Can I sleep in your room? If that’s okay?”

Smiling gently and lifting up the items Harry was obviously going to offer Louis for his nest, Louis couldn’t help but preen a little bit. Harry was so attentive and kind. Louis was already very fond of him and hoped he’d be able to stay for longer than a night, if possible.

With his perfect nest built, Louis fell asleep easily. The storm woke him up again a few hours later, though, and he found Harry rolling over in his bed at the same time. 

“You scared?” Harry asked, voice even deeper with sleep.

“Yes,” Louis whispered.

“Would it help if you moved to the bed?” Harry asked.

Louis nodded, forgetting Harry couldn’t see, but that was okay. He seemed to know anyway, because he lifted the blanket.

“Come on over, love,” he said.

As Louis curled up beside Harry, his tail gently looping around his arm, he had no way to know that it was only the first night of many years they’d happily spend together.


	10. Good Morning, Sunshine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the wonderful [gettingdizzy-oh](http://gettingdizzy-oh.tumblr.com)! The pairing is Larry and they requested "a fluffy Harry and Louis - breakfast in bed/lazy morning together." I hope you like it!!

“I’m making us some brekkie,” Harry whispered softly as he kissed Louis’ forehead. It was a rare morning that Harry woke up before Louis, but it did happen occasionally. Shaking him gently, Harry continued talking. “Come on downstairs before it gets cold, alright?”

“Mm fin, liff me alone,” Louis mumbled into his pillow. 

“Food, Lou. Come on.”

Louis shoved his hand blindly in Harry’s direction, but his sleepy slow state made it that much easier for Harry to avoid the flailing limb. “I’m awake, go away.”

Harry snorted and went back downstairs. He knew that within ten minutes Louis would be there too.

Exactly as he thought, nine minutes later Louis walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. “You better have made tea.”

Harry slid the mug he’d made for Louis over to him as he put the finishing touches on their plates. He pulled forks out of the drawer and Louis wound his arms around Harry’s waist, leaning his head against his shoulder. Harry loved when Louis was soft and warm in the mornings. He loved Louis when he was snarky and sharp tongued as well, but there was something special about how he was when he first woke up. 

“Thanks for making breakfast,” Louis said quietly. “Sorry I slept so long.”

Harry looked at the clock. “It’s barely half nine. You’re fine.”

He’d been waiting for it, but Harry could tell the moment Louis actually took in what was sitting on their plates.

“Harold. Why is our toast green?”

Trying to hold back his laughter, Harry said, “Oh, is it? That’s strange. I’m sure it’ll taste fine, though.”

“Harry,” Louis stated, and that’s when Harry knew he was getting serious. It wasn’t often Louis actually called him by his name. “You know how I feel about an avocado.”

Nodding, Harry said, “I do.”

“Then why the fuck would you put avocado on our perfectly good toast?”

Harry couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore. Giggles erupted from him even as he tried shoving them back in. He walked their plates to the table and sat down, Louis not following him. Instead, he opted to stand by the counter and stare at Harry with narrowed eyes as he sipped his perfectly made tea.

“It tastes so good and I know you don’t mind it half as much as you make it sound like you do. In fact, I quite remember how much you liked when I first started making us avocado toast, before it became trendy. You hate the trend, not the avocado.”

Harry raised his brows and waited for Louis’ response. There wasn’t one. He just kept staring as he sipped his tea.

“Come on,” Harry wheedled, waving at Louis. “Sit down. Don’t waste the food, at least. I made it just for you!”

“Yeah, because you knew I’d be pissed about it,” Louis grumbled. “Why’d you wake me up for this?”

Harry smiled widely. “Because I love you.”

“Fuck off,” Louis said with a laugh. “I don’t love you. I hate you, actually.”

“I’m sure you do, love,” Harry said, nodding and taking a bite. “What do you have going today?”

“I don’t,” Louis said, mouth already full of the toast he was so against moments ago. 

Nodding, Harry said, “That’s what I thought, but I wasn’t sure if you’d planned anything with the girls and not told me or something.”

“That was one time,” Louis said, pointing across the table. “One time like a year into dating and you cannot let it go.”

Harry shrugged and Louis took another aggressive bite of his toast. 

“I swear,” Louis said, swallowing his bite. “I hope I never do anything truly horrific because if you remember my stupid mistakes, what’s gonna happen when I actually massively mess up someday?”

“Then I kill you,” Harry said as straight faced as possible.

Rolling his eyes, Louis said, “You’d hire someone. You could never do it yourself.”

“Probably. You’re too pretty for me to do it myself.”

Louis gasped and Harry couldn’t help but laugh again. 

“Is that all I am to you?” Louis asked, hand to his chest. “A piece of meat?”

Trying to school his face back into a cocky grin, Harry nodded and said, “Yep. Pretty much.”

“Fine,” Louis said, shrugging. “At least I know you think I’m pretty.”

Harry finished his toast and stood up to take both of their plates to the sink. As usual, Louis ate everything on the plate. He just had to complain first.

“So,” Harry said, turning to look at Louis sipping his tea still. It must have been cold by this time, he didn’t understand why Louis always insisted on drinking it still. “How about I go on back to bed and snuggle with my piece of meat for the rest of the day since we don’t have any plans? Just catch up on shows we’ve missed?”

“This piece of meat isn’t going to walk up those stairs by himself. Looks like he’ll need someone strong to carry him.” Louis smirked.

“Oh, well if that’s the case, I guess I’ll just catch up on some telly by myself.”

Louis squawked and began to chase Harry upstairs. Harry only tripped on the very top step, allowing him to still make it all the way to their bedroom before Louis caught him thanks to his head start.

Both of them toppled onto the bed, laughing, and when Harry finally caught his breath, he opened his eyes to see Louis looking down at him fondly.

“I love you,” Louis whispered before leaning in to kiss Harry.

“I know,” Harry said. “Love you too.”

 


	11. I Laugh at the Clouds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This long drabble (that I swear I made so much shorter than it wanted to be as it is - this could have easily been a full fic) is for [crinkle-eyed-boo](http://crinkle-eyed-boo.tumblr.com)! It is Larry and her request was:
> 
> "I want like a disasterous first date that one of them is then like that was the best date of my life"
> 
> hehehehe I had too much fun writing this. I hope you all enjoy!!

Louis had been building up to this date for years. He wished he was exaggerating, but it really was the truth. 

He’d been pining after Harry Styles ever since he’d first gone home for a weekend with his new best friend from Uni, Gemma. Almost three years later, Harry and Louis were both located in the same city for the first time and therefore able to see each other physically more often than just an odd weekend.

It was time for Louis to sweep Harry off his feet.

Louis had it all planned. He’d triple checked weather reports and it was meant to be chilly, but still warm enough to allow a picnic in the park. Harry loved the park, and Louis had packed up all the food that afternoon, painstakingly ensuring everything was packaged nicely but also so they could eat them all with minimal mess. He’d packed up extra blankets and made sure his laptop was charged enough so once it got a little darker they could cuddle up and watch a film together before then going back to Louis’, flat where Gemma would have a bottle of wine chilled and waiting for them before she left for Michal’s.

It was simple, it was so  _ very _ Harry, and Louis was ready to hopefully ask Harry to stay the night afterwards too. God, he wanted Harry to stay after. He didn’t even care if all their clothes stayed on, as long as it meant they’d be wrapped up around each other when they woke the next morning.

Louis looked up at the clouds as he walked to Harry’s flat. It was Manchester, Louis wasn’t expecting sunshine and rainbows, but the five separate weather reports had all said there was no chance of rain, only clouds.

These clouds didn’t look like the usual cloud cover, though. They looked  _ heavy,  _ that angry grey  weight that always spelt damp shoes and umbrellas for those who dared to go outside.

Praying that wasn’t the case, Louis climbed the stairs to Harry’s flat and had barely knocked on the door when it flew open and Harry came barrelling out. 

“Don’t wait up for me! Bye!” he called into the flat before slamming the door shut and whispering frantically to Louis, “Let’s get out of here before they try to corner you and give you the talk.”

Louis fought his laughter back as he adjusted his grip on the basket so as not to drop it in their fast pace down the stairs.

“You’re insane,” Louis said happily once they’d reached the street. 

Harry sent Louis a wide smile and a shrug, then they began walking to the park. 

Louis was content to listen to Harry talk about everything he and Niall had gotten up to the night before as they walked. It was only once they arrived at Harry’s favorite spot beneath an old tree that Harry stopped talking and looked around at his surroundings. 

Louis’ stomach rolled with nerves as he eyed the sky and laid out the blanket. The only thing that made him feel a little better was the fact it was only a ten minute walk from there to his flat. He definitely didn’t think they were going to be able to watch the movie in the park as he had originally planned based on the clouds, though. It was okay, hopefully things would still turn out alright even if that was the case.

“An actual picnic?” Harry asked, smiling. “Don’t get me wrong, I saw the basket and  _ did _ wonder, but I wasn’t sure.”

Chuckling a little in an attempt to dispel the nerves, Louis said, “I remember you talking about how your perfect date would involve a picnic in the park. I’m not sure I can deliver on everything else you mentioned, but I thought I could at least give you that much.”

Harry’s green eyes were wide and he had his too large, entirely endearing frog-like smile as he looked at Louis. Basically, it was an indicator of Louis’ goals for the date being achieved already.

“You remember me saying that?” Harry asked quietly. “That was right after you first met me.”

Louis blushed and tried to focus on pulling all the food out of the basket, leaving the extra blankets and laptop ignored inside his rucksack for the time being.

“Yeah, well. I just wanted to be sure you’d enjoy yourself since I finally worked up the courage to ask you out,” Louis said quietly. Harry  _ must _ have known how long Louis had been pining after him. Louis, of all people, knew he wasn’t subtle, but if Harry accepted the invitation, hopefully that meant that he didn’t mind.

“I’m with you,” Harry said, causing Louis to look up and see him shrug. “Doesn’t really matter what we do. I’ll always have fun.”

Louis had to dispel the warmth and giddiness and fizzy excitement within him somehow, so he tossed one of the sandwiches he’d made at Harry, catching him right on his cheek. Harry let out a honking laugh and fell back as he tried to grab it from the air and twist around on the blanket at the same time. Louis laughed as well, so happy they were finally doing this, until he went to grab the small containers holding their beans and salad. 

Brow furrowing, Louis dug around the dessert and drinks he hadn’t unpacked from the basket yet, panic rising within him.

_ Fuck. _ He’d planned for everything and probably quadruple checked it all before he left, but he still somehow forgot to pack cups for their drink and utensils. They could just drink the water from the bottle, but as for the beans and salad - and  _ dammit  _ he’d forgotten the salad creme too - they’d just have to save them for later or make do with their hands.

“What’s wrong, Lou?” Harry asked before taking another bite of the sandwich he’d already started on. 

Louis sighed. He’d accidentally given Harry his own sandwich too, so now Louis would be stuck with the one that had pickles on it.

“I left a few things at the flat, so now we’re going to have dry salad as well as beans with no way to eat them other than our hands.”

Harry flashed his dimpled smile and swallowed. “We can make it a competition. See who can do the beans making the least mess.”

He didn’t deserve this man. Everything Louis worried about with the meal, and it was quite a lot, Harry came up with a solution for, and it was great. Or, as great as it could be when you were practically trying to drink baked beans out of a small tupperware while on a date.

Then, the rain started. It wasn’t just a mist or a light rain either. Louis was right when he’d looked at the clouds earlier and thought they looked heavy. Harry helped him throw everything back into the basket as fast as possible and they held the blanket above them to act as an umbrella best it could as they made their way to Louis’ flat. 

It was fine until the street Louis lived on. It was prone to flooding when rain came heavily, and they were almost to the flat when a car drove past and splashed water from the street up onto them, the basket, everything. A heavy, already dripping blanket wasn’t going to be able to save them from the deluge. 

They finally got up to the flat, and Gemma was indeed still there, getting everything ready for them. The nice, bottled wine wasn’t even beginning to be chilled, she didn’t look near ready to leave, and as Louis looked down, he realized his arms had been dyed blue. 

Horror filled him when he realized the blanket he had chosen was brand new and had never been washed. The rain as well as the splash from the car outside had caused it to transfer the color to not only his arms but the back of Harry’s formerly yellow shirt and probably Louis’ top too.

Oh, God. All Louis had wanted was a single night where things went perfectly, but from almost the beginning, this had been exactly the opposite. There was no way Harry would ever agree to a second date with Louis. Years of longing and pining and hoping for  _ someday _ proving to Harry he was worth a chance were entirely down the drain within an hour of the date starting.

And then the laughter started. Fuck, the last thing Louis needed was Harry laughing at how horribly it all had gone. Louis wanted to burn in flames of embarrassment. 

Mumbling something that hopefully sounded like, “I’ll get you something dry to wear,” Louis turned and was starting to make his way to his room when Harry said, gasping for breath between laughs, “This is by far the best date I’ve ever been on.”

Louis froze. “What?” he asked, unable to even process anything more through his shock. He slowly turned and saw Harry bent over, hands on his knees, laughing and looking happier than he had all night.

Gemma slipped out of the flat with a wink and a wave, and Louis was grateful for her knowing he needed to tend to his shame alone.

“This was the best, most interesting night of my life and therefore the best date by far that I have ever been on,” Harry said, standing up and finally regaining control of himself a little.

The man was  _ blue _ for fuck’s sake. Blue and wet and hungry. How could he be saying that?

Walking up slowly to Louis, Harry said, “I’ve been half in love with you from the moment Gemma brought you home. This date was a _ mess, _ but still ended up exactly as I had hoped, with us alone in your flat. So. Can I please kiss you and get us out of these cold, wet clothes now?”

Louis nodded and was going to say more, but Harry stopped him with a kiss. Louis figured the kiss said everything he wanted to, anyway.


	12. Flowers in the Window

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! This drabble was written for the lovely [rememberyouareloved](http://rememberyouareloved.tumblr.com). The pairing is Larry and the prompt was the song "Flowers in the Window". It was a very open prompt, and I loved listening to the song and trying to capture the feel of it as well as the lyrics. I hope you enjoy!!

Louis’ eyes were blue. That seemed like such a stupid observation for Harry to make. It was one of the first things he ever noticed about Louis, but it was also the feature that was standing out most to Harry right now outside of his smile; how very blue his eyes were.

The first time Harry met Louis, his eyes were blue, but they were rimmed by red. Harry likely looked similarly. They were both in rough times in their lives and Harry was prone to crying spontaneously because he caught the smell of someone wearing the same cologne Robin used to or because he heard Robin’s favorite song. But then he literally ran into a man who looked the same kind of sad Harry felt, and he thought,  _ Hey. Maybe he could understand. _

They were both buying flowers that day - deep purple irises for Louis, some sprigs of lavender for Harry - and as they got to know each other, flowers became a part of the relationship. They didn’t know much about the actual meanings for each flower, but they started assigning their own, and that worked for them.

When Louis was angry with Harry, he would passive aggressively get Harry daisies. Every. Single. Time. 

Harry  _ hated _ daisies. 

Daisies always seemed so bright and colorful and cheerful, but then he went to smell them and either they didn’t smell like anything, or they did and they smelled  _ awful. _ They were a very teasing flower, which explained why Louis went to them so quickly when angry. They matched his own personality in that way. Louis’ teasing was always fun, though. Daisies weren’t fun.

When Harry was happy he would always bring home the brightest lilies he could find. Lilies felt so hopeful to him. They were so elegant and lovely and distinct, each one beautiful in sometimes very unusual ways. He liked that. He also liked to imagine that maybe he and Louis could grasp onto the confidence those lilies had, be beautiful in their own distinctive ways as well, both on their own and together.

It was hard to tell if they grew in confidence, but they did grow  _ stronger _ together and, with that, their love felt like it became solidified through their experiences as well.

They moved in together just over a year after they started dating, getting their own home two years after that. Their biggest desire was lots of space for gardening and flowers. The home was modest, perfect for their needs, and it had a beautiful garden. In the winter, they always bought flowers for their windows, but during the spring, summer, and fall, they put much of themselves into creating a beautiful space both inside their home and out.

It was almost strange for Harry to look into Louis’ blue eyes and think of those early days when they were still so filled with pain but doing their best. They’d come so far and Louis had been such an important part of his life for so long now, it was hard to remember that they met each other while in pain, that they hadn’t been there for the loss of the people who did cause that pain.

The hardest part of remembering that was the realization that Louis never knew Robin and Harry never knew Jay. They had gotten serious rather quickly because of their shared grief, those losses playing a large role in the start of the relationship, but sometimes it still surprised them that there were no shared memories of those people who were so important to each other.

As Harry looked around, he smiled. The flowers they had been buying the day they met surrounded them once more, reminding them that even if Jay and Robin weren’t able to be there with them physically for this most important day, they were still there in their hearts.

Louis’ blue eyes were starting to be rimmed with red again, but this time due to happy tears. Or so Harry hoped.

“Ready?” Louis whispered as he took Harry’s hands in front of their closest friends and family.

“Ready,” Harry said, smiling through his own tears. 

Lottie, having gotten her ordination specifically so she could be the one to perform their marriage, began to read what she had prepared, and Harry knew trying to hold back his tears was pointless.

They had been through so much - they had been glad, sad, mad and so much more - and they not only made it through. They got through those hard times and came out stronger, never forgetting the focus should be on each other and the beauty surrounding them. They did the best they could and always kept the love strong and the flowers bright.

Harry was glad for their plans to keep a small bouquet of the wedding flowers. Gemma promised to dry them for them so when they got home from their honeymoon, a reminder of those they loved who weren’t with them anymore as well as their own special day could always be sitting in their bedroom window. 

The words were said, the vows given, and Harry had never felt so grounded as when he kissed his husband in front of the crowd of loved ones watching on. Louis’ blue eyes, shining brighter than Harry had ever seen them before, were framed by lines worn from a life well lived and made him that much more beautiful.

“Shall we go get ready to greet our guests, husband?” Louis asked as he nodded towards the congregation that was now standing and waiting for them to make their way down the aisle.

“Yeah,” Harry said, smiling.

Hand in hand, they walked back the way they came and this time went to a shared dressing room. 

As they stood in privacy for the first time that day, Harry pulled Louis to him and wrapped his arms around his husband.

“What’s this for?” Louis asked, smirking. “You’re going to wrinkle our suits if we stay like this too long.”

Harry leaned forward and rested his forehead against Louis’. He loved being so close to the person who understood and loved him best. 

“Look at us now,” Harry said, smiling. “We’ve come so far, haven’t we? That’s all I could think of as we were standing there looking at each other, about to say our vows. How it was such a lovely day and now we’re going to have flowers in the window to remind us of it every day.”

Smiling fondly at Harry, Louis tilted his head and nodded. “I love you.”

Leaning in for a gentle kiss, Harry said, “I’m so glad you feel the same. Love you too.”


	13. A Baker's Dozen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good morning and happy Sunday before Harry's Birthday! Today's drabble was written for the lovely [haztobegood](http://haztobegood.tumblr.com). They requested Larry as the pairing and the prompt was:
> 
> "Could you write something where Louis attempts to surprise Harry by baking cupcakes from scratch and fails miserably?"
> 
> I had loads of fun with this one, so I hope you enjoy!

Louis looked at the mess in the kitchen. Fuck. He deserved to be on that “Nailed It” show, or whatever it was called, and he wasn’t even trying to make anything fancy.

The thing was, he had a fairly decent handle on cooking. If it was active cooking and he had step by step instructions, he did pretty well. He’d been improving with practice too, so he was fairly confident in his cooking abilities.

But cupcakes require baking. Louis had tried seeing if there was a stovetop cupcake recipe and the closest he could find was for mug cakes. Harry deserved more than a miniature cake made in a fucking mug in the microwave. He was turning twenty-five. The man deserved at least a dozen beautifully made traditional cupcakes.

The first batch had turned out perfectly. They looked gorgeous, they hadn’t overflowed their cups, it was great.

Until they cooled. Every single one sank into itself, and when Louis asked Anne, she said it was because they hadn’t cooked quite long enough and they were still raw in the middle.

Dumping those into the trash, he tried a second batch. In this one he forgot the bicarbonate of soda. He hadn’t thought it was all that important, but it turned out baking has to do with chemistry and the way the ingredients all work together, and without the bicarbonate of soda or a substitution, well. The cupcakes won’t really rise how they should, so they ended up very flat. And dense. And not at all what Louis was wanting.

Trying a third time, Louis finally got it right. He was so proud of himself, he patted himself on the back, then pulled out the hand mixer to make some frosting.

Harry  _ adored _ buttercream frosting. Sometimes he would purchase the tubs of premade frosting and would then proceed to eat it by the spoonful. It felt decadent and Harry loved feeling like he was treating himself to something he probably shouldn’t every once in awhile. Because of that, Louis was attempting to make buttercream as well.

Louis quickly found the frosting was even more difficult than the cupcakes themselves. Four attempts later, Louis  _ still _ didn’t know what exactly he was doing wrong, but it was all lumpy and Harry was due home any moment. Louis still hadn’t showered or anything and he wanted to be completely ready to surprise him.

Hoping the slightly runny, lumpy frosting would still work, Louis began putting it on the cupcakes...and almost immediately stopped.

It wasn’t all whipped and thick like it was meant to be. The frosting looked like it was  _ dripping _ off of the cupcakes, leaving only a thin layer of frosting with random chunks along the top of Louis’ perfectly baked cupcakes. They looked awful, but Louis was out of ideas. He was also nearly out of butter.

Looking at the time and realizing it was even later than he thought, Louis scurried to clean up the kitchen. He had at least seven mixing bowls strewn throughout the place, the trash can was filled with various attempts at the cupcakes as well as the frosting, and Louis was cranky, tired, and frustrated.

He’d barely even gotten his hands wet when the front door opened and he could hear Harry hanging up his jacket.

“Lou? Smells great in here. You in the kitchen?”

Sighing and focusing on at least washing his hands, Louis gave up. Harry would once again have to deal with the fact his boyfriend couldn’t bake, but at least he would be able to see the ample effort Louis put into it. Hopefully that would count for something.

“Yeah, I’m in here,” Louis said, unable to sound chipper. Louis had just dried his hands when Harry turned the corner, eyes going wide upon seeing the disaster zone. “Surprise?” Louis said, waving his hands like spirit fingers. 

“What happened in here?” Harry asked slowly and carefully as he made his way towards the partially oozing cupcakes still sitting on the cooling rack on the counter. There were still puddles of goopy, lumpy pink frosting beneath them. 

“I made you cupcakes,” Louis said, scratching his nose. “From scratch. The cupcakes without frosting should be alright, I suppose, but it didn’t matter what I did with the frosting, I couldn’t get it to turn out right.”

Harry hummed. Looking around he asked, “Do we have a clean bowl and enough ingredients to try once more?”

“Harry,” Louis whined. “I don’t want you to have to make your own frosting. It’s your birthday!”

Rolling his eyes and whipping the tea towel so it snapped at Louis’ bum, Harry said, “Yeah, it’s my birthday, which is why I want to eat the cupcakes my boyfriend slaved over, yeah?” Harry looked in a few cupboards before turning to Louis and asking with a chuckle, “Did you seriously use every fucking bowl we’ve got?”

“I hate you,” Louis said, stomping over to the kettle and switching it on. “Yes I did.”

“Can’t say you aren’t thorough,” Harry teased before rinsing one out. He filled the rest with water to soak while he worked on the frosting, and Louis wondered why he hadn’t thought of that. Probably because he was too busy trying to make something decent and was failing enough to lose sight of everything else, like clean up.

Within a few minutes, Harry had made some buttercream frosting that looked perfect and was helping Louis frost the remaining cupcakes. 

“Happy birthday, love,” Louis said, handing Harry one of the cupcakes.

“Thank you,” Harry said with a big smile before taking a big bite. Harry didn’t stop chewing, which was a good sign, but he also got a confused look on his face.

“What?” Louis asked. He was so excited to have finally gotten a good batch, but now, even with Harry’s help on the frosting, something  _ still _ wasn’t right?

Harry pasted on an obviously fake smile and said, “Nothing!” in an overbright voice before he shoved more of the cupcake in. 

Narrowing his eyes, Louis picked one up himself, unwrapped it, and took a bite.

It tasted like  _ nothing. _ Looking at it in confusion, Louis said, “I don’t understand how it can just...not taste like anything.”

“Did you leave something out?” Harry asked. “Or forget something?”

Louis glared at Harry and said, “I don’t think so, but it was my third batch, so fuck if I know. Let’s just toss these in the trash and we can get a unicorn cake from Tesco tomorrow, yeah?”

Harry leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Louis’ mouth. Deepening it as best he could before Harry pulled back, Louis had just swiped Harry’s lips when the kiss was broken.

“We should do something with these cupcakes,” Harry whispered. “They were much better than last year’s, love. I figure at this rate, you’ll have perfect ones ready in a year or two.”

Louis punched Harry in the arm and left his ex-boyfriend in the kitchen, laughing. Served him right.

 


	14. Star Light, Star Bright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble is a belated birthday gift for [bringmetheharry](http://bringmetheharry.tumblr.com)! Happy birthday, friend! The pairing is Larry and they requested anything hybrid. I tried my best to work in some Harry and Zayn friendship, cats, the night sky/stargazing, AND intimate touching, so hopefully it all came together into something you like :D

“Come here, Lovey,” Harry murmured as he picked up the cat that had been sniffing his toes. He set her on his lap and then wrapped his tail around her in an attempt to get her to stay with him. She was a flighty one, unlike Persnickety, who was fully spread across the rest of his lap, purring. 

“No more than two cats at a time before the date,” Zayn said, coming in and picking up the new kitten who was sniffing about Harry’s hair and batting his ears. “We especially don’t want you getting his hair all frizzy right before he actually gets to go stargazing, hmm?”

Harry sat up straighter at the reminder. He’d been so distracted about looking perfect because this was his  _ fourth date with Louis _ and he really didn’t want to ruin it, but stargazing was one of Harry’s favorite things. He hadn’t done it since he was a child, thanks to the danger that came with being a hybrid out alone in the dark, but Louis knew how much he longed to do it again. And now, Louis was making it happen.

Harry and Zayn picked up the sound at their front step at the same time, their ears flicking in tandem towards the door. Harry was already trying to ease Persnickety off of his lap - the cat had gotten his claw stuck in Harry’s jeans, and due to the fact he  _ still _ didn’t know how to retract his claws, it was causing a bit of a mess - when the knock came at the door.

Persnickety ripped his claws out of Harry’s leg, leaving a bit of a hole in his brand new jeans, and while the other cats ran from the room, Persnickety stuck his curious snout to the door.

“Get out of the way,” Harry said, nudging him aside with his foot so he could open the door without worrying that the cat would escape. He hated being stuck outside, but always tried to get the porch for whatever reason.

“Hey, Harry. You about ready?”

Harry nodded and took in Louis’ outfit. He was wearing his usual tight jeans and a band shirt, but he had a nice jean jacket with a fur collar as well. Harry wanted to snuggle into it, but hopefully he’d get that chance once we were at the park.

“Bye, Zayn,” Harry said. 

“Bye, babes,” Zayn said, coming up and giving Harry a kiss on the cheek. “You take care of him, or I’ll scratch your eyes out.”

“Noted,” Louis said, giving a nervous wave as Harry shot Zayn a glare and gave him a flick of the tail to the face.

Once it was ensured that none of the cats had escaped the house, they made their way to Louis’ car. Harry tried to keep up casual chatter as they drove to the park, and within about twenty minutes they were set up with a nice blanket on the ground to protect them from the slightly wet ground. Side by side they laid on their backs, staring at the sky in peaceful wonder.

It was slightly cloudy, but that just meant that they were able to focus on different stars as the clouds moved. Harry got chilly as the night went on, scooting closer to Louis for warmth, and the man easily let Harry cuddle up beside him. 

As Louis’ arm wrapped around Harry’s shoulders, Louis maneuvered his arm so his hand could stroke the sensitive skin of Harry’s neck and collarbones. Harry’d had a teenage boyfriend try that once, and it had felt all wrong. Too intimate and just not quite right _ , _ but with Louis it felt good.

No, more than good. It caused goosebumps to erupt all over Harry’s skin and his tail was restless. Harry was almost afraid to move, because he didn’t want Louis to stop. 

The more Louis’ fingertips grazed Harry’s skin, the more Harry wanted to touch Louis, too. Finally, even the night sky couldn’t hold his attention enough for Harry to resist turning into Louis.

Shifting onto his side, Harry propped his head back up against Louis’ shoulder, and when he did so, Louis’ hand drifted down Harry’s side and began gently massaging the base of his tail. It was so intimate and yet not really sexual, and Harry loved it. 

He also wanted to reciprocate in some way. See if he could possibly touch some skin of Louis’ and get a reaction out of him as well. Licking his lip nervously, Harry slid his own hand forward on Louis’ belly, his pinky lightly grazing the skin that was showing between the hem of his shirt and his boxers.

He was warm; the skin mostly silky smooth, but also slightly rough where the sparse line of hair led down into his pants. Harry bit the corner of his lip as he watched his hand move along and he did his best to catalogue every sensation. 

Louis’ own hands were slowly moving Harry’s shirt up so the palm of his hand was gently rubbing the skin on Harry’s hip.

“This okay?” Louis asked quietly, and Harry nodded quickly. 

He’d never felt more okay. It was like a livewire was sparking up with every movement of Louis’ skin against his and Harry could only hope and pray that his own touch was doing the same to Louis. Louis, of course, was much harder to read than Harry. He didn’t have the ability to purr every time he felt happy and content. 

Harry sometimes wished he did. Harry felt so on display with his emotions between his tail often having a mind of its own and his purring, but Louis never seemed to take those as gospel truth. He always asked for confirmation from Harry. It was one of the reasons Harry felt so safe with him.

“I’ve wanted to touch your skin ever since you were taking off your jacket at our first date and I saw your shirt slip up just enough for me to see the skin right here,” Louis whispered as he indicated the soft bit of pudge on Harry’s side. 

Harry’s tail was wrapped around Louis’ wrist now, and the fact that Louis kept rubbing the skin gently made Harry feel confident enough to move his hand forward to gently palm at Louis’ side too. Louis’ arm was around Harry, and Harry was more than happy tucked into Louis’ side and holding on just as tight. He didn’t ever want to move. It was too perfect as they were.

“Haz?” Louis asked softly. 

Harry’s ears twitched. He could almost feel Louis’ nerves radiating off of him. Why was he nervous?

“Yes?” Harry asked back.

“I don’t want to see anyone else and, if you’re okay with it, I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t want to see anyone else either.”

Harry blinked and his fingers twitched against Louis’ side. “You mean like, you want to be exclusive?”

Louis let out a soft laugh that made Harry’s head bounce a little. “Yeah. And like, boyfriends?”

Harry’s purring immediately ramped up a level from what it had been. He knew Louis could not only feel it now, but hear it as well.

“I’m hoping that’s a good thing,” Louis teased, softly tickling Harry’s side.

Harry squealed and curled even further into Louis as if that would help him get away from the tickling fingers. 

“Yes, that’s a good thing,” he said before tacking on, “Boyfriend.”

Louis hummed and pressed a kiss to the top of Harry’s head. “Good.”

 


	15. Timeless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble was written for the amazing [KK](http://catfishau.tumblr.com)! She requested Shiall for the pairing, but not just any Shiall. _Weird_ Shiall. I was very happy to oblige. I hope this suits your fancy, KK! Thank you for requesting the pairing I wanted to write and hadn't gotten yet! haha

Shawn was disgusting. Or at least he  _ felt _ disgusting. Hopefully he, as a person, was not actually disgusting. He supposed that was up to debate and depended on who was asked, but he certainly tried to not be.

That said, he’d just done four hours of yard work for Mrs. Morris in the middle of August. He was covered in dirt and sweat and he was positive that at the very least he  _ smelled _ disgusting. 

Walking to the bathroom, Shawn turned the water on at just the right temperature to still feel warm but also cool enough to help him stop sweating and went back to his room to peel off his now-nasty clothes. Mrs. Morris really was a sweet woman, but he needed to stop spending almost his entire weekend at her house doing yard and housework that her own children could easily do themselves.

Shawn just had such a hard time saying  _ no. _ Especially to the grandma who lived next door and always remembered his allergy to tree nuts whenever she made him cookies or brownies.

Sighing to himself, Shawn walked back to the bathroom and got into the shower. Some days he really wished he’d splurged and paid a little more to get the house that was closer to work because it had an en suite. The shower in the bedroom had seemed so indulgent at the time he was house hunting, but it would be nice to not have to walk naked through the halls. It didn’t  _ really _ matter since he didn’t have a roommate, but it still felt a bit strange walking balls out between his room and the bathroom.

He rinsed out his shampoo and began to scrub at his body with the loofah his sister had gotten him for Christmas. He’d never considered using one before she got it for him, but now he could see why she insisted on getting him one. It felt great.

Turning around to rinse his back and scrub his front, Shawn was not prepared to be met with a cursing blond Irishman.

Letting out a rather loud, high pitched scream and covering himself as best he could, Shawn backed up into the wall behind him, which also turned off the shower.

“Thanks, mate. Was hoping not to get my clothes entirely soaked,” the man thanked as he began stepping out of the shower stall. “Say, what year is it?”

“I...what?” Shawn sputtered. “You just show up, fully clothed, in a stranger’s shower and your first question is what year it is? How the fuck did you get in here? Why my shower? Who  _ are _ you?”

He had never really been quite so thankful that his shower stall had the smoked glass so he could only see the general outline of the intruder (and hopefully the same for the other way around) as he was right now.

“Well, yeah. I guess so. I’ve not quite got a handle of the whole time traveling thing yet.”

Shawn was starting to get cold with the shower turned off, so he slid the door open enough to grab his towel from the hook. Thankfully he’d already rinsed most of the soap off so he could count his shower as officially over.

Wrapping the towel around his midsection, Shawn slid the door open a bit more and peeked out. “If I come out, do you swear you won’t kill me or anything?”

The man laughed, bending forward at the waist. Now that Shawn got a better look at him, the man actually seemed more like an older teen. He looked quite young and scrawny. Maybe he wasn’t really a threat after all, but he was still a stranger who had just randomly appeared in his shower. One never could be entirely sure.

“I swear, I won’t touch ya,” the stranger finally said, holding up his hands. “I’m serious, though. What year is it?”

Shawn looked at him out of the corner of his eye, and it was then he saw the man’s eyes lingering on his torso a bit longer than usual. Interesting.

“It’s 2021,” Shawn said. “August twenty-first.”

The boys’ eyes widened. “Fuck, that’s almost ten whole years this time,” he muttered. 

“You’re serious?” Shawn asked, grabbing another towel and drying his hair, trying to figure out if it was safe to go back to his room so he could get dressed or not. His phone was in there too and, come to think of it, he would feel better with at least that near him.

“Yeah. Turned eighteen and learned I had the time traveling gene and things have been a bit fucked ever since.”

They got to talking and Shawn learned that Niall - that was the name of the rather odd Irishman - didn’t quite have control over his time traveling yet, but that he was working on it. Shawn wasn’t sure if he believed the kid, but the guy was pretty convincing and he wasn’t that much younger than himself.

“How can I prove it to you?” Niall asked. “I can tell my time here is almost done, and I really do need to get back. But seriously, what can I do to prove it?”

Shawn smirked. “Come back when it’s August twenty-first 2021 for  _ you _ as well.”

Niall smiled widely back and said, “Yeah? You’ll let me take you on a date?”

Shawn’s eyes widened, but he smiled easily. What harm would it do? There was no way this guy would show up again tonight as a completely grown man, ready to take Shawn on a date.

“Yeah. It’s a date.”

Without any warning, Niall disappeared, leaving the mug of coffee Shawn had offered him to drop to the floor, shattering everywhere. Shit. That had been one of Shawn’s favorite mugs.

That said, actually  _ seeing _ Niall disappear did make Shawn a little more inclined to believe his story about time traveling.

Shawn picked up the broom and was heading back to the kitchen to sweep up the shards when a knock sounded at his door. 

“Oh my God, can I just have a quiet rest of my day?” Shawn murmured. He really was quite tired after the hard labor earlier, not to mention the excitement of meeting Niall. He was very much looking forward to a quiet dinner and a movie at home. Alone. Besides, who had decided to stop by without at least texting him first?

Taking the broom with him, hoping to use it as an excuse to get the door-to-door salesman or whoever it was to leave sooner rather than later, Shawn opened the door and froze. The man standing on his doorstep looked familiar, almost like…

“Hi, it’s Niall. I’m hoping I’m not too early? I thought I remembered coming by in the afternoon, but I could be wrong. I’m here for our date.”

Shawn’s eyes grew wide and he took in the frankly  _ gorgeous _ man in front of him. He had brown hair now and he’d grown into himself in a way his scrawny little eighteen year old self should be proud of. 

“You were serious,” Shawn said quietly.

Niall smirked. “Course I was. I wouldn’t lie to a beautiful man like yourself.”

Blushing, Shawn invited Niall inside. After all, they had a date, right?


	16. Love, Time, and Other Flexible Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! This fun little drabble was written for the super kind [runaway-train-works](http://runaway-train-works.tumblr.com)! The pairing is Larry. Their request was a non-famous established relationship AU. "maybe they live together and they're late for something important but one of them is taking his sweet ass time getting ready and the other one wants to be mad but he just cant coz he's just so in love." So basically tooth rotting fluff but also banter. And I did the very best I could to deliver! I hope you like it!

“Louis,” Harry called from the living room.

Louis scrunched his nose at himself in the mirror. He knew he was driving Harry crazy, but he could also tell that Harry was just sitting in the living room on his phone. He wasn’t  _ that _ worried yet, so Louis was fine.

“What time is it?” Louis called back, hoping to buy himself some time. He knew Harry wanted them to have left at least ten minutes ago, but Harry also always tells Louis they need to leave thirty minutes before they  _ really _ need to leave. Louis worked that into his plans.

Louis  _ also _ needed to make sure he looked perfect. This dinner was happening because Michal was proposing tonight and wanted Anne, Harry, and Louis there to surprise Gemma right afterwards. Louis thought it was incredibly thoughtful and beautiful, but it also made him that much more nervous. He had to make sure everything went smoothly and that he was fully accepted as part of the family. 

Because tonight? Tonight was a test. A test to see how Harry reacted to various parts of the evening so Louis could make note of what to do and what  _ not _ to do when he proposed.

First note of what not to do: don’t take so much time on his own hair that they are potentially late for dinner and therefore ruin the surprise.

“It’s four fifteen, we really do need to go,” Harry called.

“Yeah, except I know you told me we needed to leave at four when we really didn’t need to leave until four thirty, am I right?” Louis called back.

Silence was the only response. Hah. Louis knew his tricks.

“I do not do that,” Harry said, making his way to the bathroom and squawking. “You’re not even dressed!”

“But my hair is done,” Louis countered, pointing back at Harry and poking him in the chest. “That is the longest part and you know it.”

“Most of the time it’s the longest part, but please remember that I know you. With something like this dinner, you’re going to try on at least seven different outfits before you decide the first one was the best option,” Harry said, obviously exasperated as Louis rolled his eyes and walked towards the wardrobe.

“That’s not true,” Louis said. “I only do that when I’m nervous, and I’m not nervous tonight.”

Harry didn’t say anything, so Louis looked over his shoulder and found his boyfriend glaring at him. Giving him a wide smile, Louis turned back to the wardrobe. Michal had said this wasn’t supposed to be too fancy, but Harry was looking well posh. Perhaps Louis should go a bit dressier than he had originally intended.

“I’m just glad we live together now so I can keep a better eye on your preparations and try to make sure we aren’t so late as to ruin everything,” Harry snipped before leaving the room.

“Oi, cheeky,” Louis shouted back. “We’ll be fine! I promise we won’t be late!”

“You said that two weeks ago for dinner with your family too, and we were twenty minutes late,” Harry replied.

Making a face, Louis pulled out his nicest pair of black jeans, a band tee, and a blazer. Hopefully that combination paired with his quiff and nice shoes would be good enough.

Louis had just set the outfit on the bed and was pulling on a pair of pants when Harry called, “If you’re not ready in seven minutes, I’m leaving without you.”

“Fuck off,” Louis said, hopping around. The pants were a bit more snug than he remembered. Maybe they were Harry’s. He’d made that mistake before. It would have to work and in fact might be beneficial with his tight jeans. 

Turning around to pick up his jeans, Louis had just stuck in one leg when Harry said from the door, “Those pink pants are mine and you know it.”

Sending a saucy wink over his shoulder, Louis said, “You like thinking of me in your underwear, don’t lie.”

Shrugging and obviously trying to play it off, Harry said, “Well, you do fill them out nicely.”

Louis hummed and pulled his jeans up over his bum. “How about these jeans? Do I fill them out nicely as well?”

Harry walked up behind him, wrapped his arms around Louis’ waist and kissed Louis beneath his ear. Good lad. He knew better than to ruin the quiff Louis had spent so long perfecting.

“You know you do,” Harry whispered into his ear before pulling away so Louis could finish dressing, but not before he grabbed a quick handful of Louis’ bum. “Can’t wait to get you out of them after as well.”

“I’m sure,” Louis said, chuckling. “Just you wait.”

Looking at the t-shirt he had chosen, Louis was regretting having done his hair first. “Do you think I should go for a scoop neck instead of this one?” Louis asked Harry, holding up his shirt. “I’m afraid this one will ruin my hair and then I’d have to start all over again.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “Definitely do a scoop neck, yeah.”

Narrowing his eyes, Louis said, “You’re just saying that so I don’t have to redo my hair.”

“Yes, I am,” Harry confirmed, giving him a deep, dimpled smile. “But I’m also saying that because I love your collarbones.  _ If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” _

“You just quoted Uma Thurman at me,” Louis said before tilting his head. “But she’s right. I really should flaunt them.”

“Technically I quoted  _ The Producers _ and whoever wrote the songs, but yes. Exactly,” Harry said, coming forward and giving Louis a peck on the lips. “I was serious, though. I’m leaving without you if you’re not ready in….” Harry checked his phone and said, “two minutes. We can’t be late for this. It’s important.”

“Got it. Two minutes and I’ll be at the door waiting for you.”

Six minutes later, Louis rushed towards the door and said, “Well, it’s about time you were ready. I’ve been waiting for ages! Now let’s go congratulate the newly engaged couple!”

Harry huffed behind him, but didn’t deny Louis the kiss he asked for once they were in the car. Louis counted it as a win.


	17. The Wait is Worth the While

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!! This drabble was written for [always-aqua](http://always-aqua.tumblr.com)! The pairing is Larry :) Her request was for a future fic/kid fic that explores the feeling of falling in love or knowing you're about to fall in love. I tried my best to capture that feeling, and hope you like it! This is actually an adapted idea I started writing for a fic ages ago that stalled because it wasn't working out right until finally I rethought it for the drabble and it came together, so really, I've got to thank you for this request! I finally finished this idea I had a year ago! I hope you enjoy :)

Harry always got lost in Claire’s school. He had no idea how these kids could make their way from class to class in four minutes and not be late. Harry could hardly make it to the drama room in ten minutes due to all the wrong turns he took.

Finally where he should have been three minutes earlier, Harry eased open the door and prepared himself for the wrath of Mrs. Brenneman. She had never really cared for Harry when he’d attended himself, so he had worried at first that the same predisposition would also fall onto Claire. She, of course, had won the older woman over her first day in class. Life was patently unfair like that.

When Harry looked up with an apology at the ready, he froze when the face he met was  _ not  _ Mrs. Brenneman’s.

“Hello there,” the beautiful man said. “If you would just take a seat, we’re already getting started. Don’t worry, you’ve not missed much.”

The man was British too. Harry was in deep shit. 

Turning to find Claire’s cheeks turning red and her shoulders shaking in her attempt to hold in laughter, Harry glared at her. She was going to be in  _ so much _ trouble once they got home. She had not  _ once _ mentioned the fact that Mrs. Brennaman wasn’t her teacher this year. He thought she was an open and forthcoming child. Obviously he was wrong. 

“I knew your face would be incredible, and you really did deliver,” Claire whispered in Harry’s ear. “He’s cute, right?”

Harry kept his eyes on Mr. Tomlinson, the name etched on the blackboard behind him, and tried to process what that meant.

“I might just happen to know that he’s interested in men, and is single as well,” Claire continued despite Harry wishing she really wouldn’t. “He’s only a couple years older than you, Dad. You should talk with him after. See if it goes anywhere.”

“Oh my God, will you shut up? You’re grounded until Thanksgiving,” Harry whispered back.

Mr. Tomlinson paused, and it was then Harry realized his voice had carried. This fucking room and his fucking low voice. As a kid he’d never thought it was fair that even his  _ whisper _ carried better than most because of the low timbre. He still felt that way.

“Sorry,” Harry mouthed, wincing.

Mr. Tomlinson gave a wink and a nod before continuing to explain how the showcase would run. There would be four groups performing the scenes they had prepared over the past two months. Claire was part of the last group that would be up, which was great. It allowed Harry time to let his mind wander and get around the fact that Claire was trying to set him up with her drama teacher. Her beautiful drama teacher. 

Her beautiful, British, not-straight drama teacher. Harry sighed. He really could do worse for himself, but the fact he hadn’t been on a date for two years didn’t really speak well for Harry’s chances. Not to mention he was Claire’s  _ teacher.  _ Oh God, what was he thinking? He couldn’t date her teacher!

Harry caught himself staring at Mr. Tomlinson’s supportive smiles, the way he knew when the kids needed prompting, and the fact his feedback was always positive but constructive as well. Harry could have done with a teacher a bit more like him and less like...well. Less like the apparently retired Mrs. Brenneman. 

He felt a kick from Claire and when he looked over, she had written him a note. 

_ He keeps sneaking looks up at you too. Just ask him out after!!! _

Harry looked at her with his eyes wide as he snatched the pen from her hand. 

_ I understand that you’re sixteen and don’t understand the full ethical ramifications of such a thing, but there is no way I can date your teacher _

Claire pouted in her seat.

_ But you’re so perfect for each other! _

Harry sighed and shoved the paper back to her.

And that was exactly what he had to deal with for the last year and a half of Claire’s high school education. At least twice a month she would give updates on what she learned about Mr. Tomlinson. Harry did his best to pretend like he wasn’t interested, but if he was honest, the more he learned the more he hoped that Mr. Tomlinson would be available to ask for a date once Claire had graduated. 

As it turned out, Harry didn’t need to worry himself about it. Mr. Tomlinson came to Claire’s graduation party and after he’d mingled with other teachers and students for about twenty minutes, he made his way over to Harry. 

“Hey, Harry.”

Harry looked up from where he’d been refilling the strawberries on the fruit platter. Tucking his hair behind his ear, Harry said, “Hi, Mr. Tomlinson.”

Scrunching his nose a little, Louis said, “I think since Claire’s graduated now, you could do with just calling me Louis.”

Harry took as deep a breath as he could before licking his lips. Mr. To-  _ Louis _ tracked his movement before flicking back up to Harry’s eyes. God, Harry had been hoping Louis would be here. He’d only been lusting and pining after the man for almost a year and nine months at this point.

“Louis,” Harry repeated. “Thank you for coming. It means a lot to Claire that her favorite teacher would be here to celebrate with her.”

Louis bit his lip and lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck. Was that a blush rising on his cheeks?

“I’ve got to confess that I didn’t only come for Claire,” Louis said quietly. He looked around and when he saw no one else was near them at the moment, he continued. “I was actually hoping that you might be interested in a date?”

“Yes,” Harry said so quickly, it felt like it was punched out of him and perhaps came out a bit louder than strictly necessary. “Sorry,” he said clearing his throat. “But, yes. I would be very interested.”

Louis’ smile was so bright Harry thought he might be able to feel warmth emanating from it. “Good. Great. Yeah.” 

Harry nodded, his own smile growing as well. Pulling out his phone, Harry held it out feeling shy. He hadn’t done this kind-of-flirting and asking-for-a-number thing since Claire was thirteen. He was more than a bit rusty and needing to get back in the game. 

“Mind giving me your number? I’ve got to keep restocking the food, so it might be easier to get details figured out later.”

“God, yes. Sorry,” Louis apologized as he took the phone and immediately put in his contact information. “Feel free to text or call me later. That would be perfect.”

Harry took his phone back and just from the simple touch of their fingers grazing against each other, he felt tingles go all the way down to his toes. 

“Perfect,” Harry repeated, and he knew it would be just that.


	18. Sweet Strawberry Laces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Harry's Birthday! We reached goal for the charity drive yesterday and I'm so so happy about it. Thank you to everyone who participated by reading, reblogging info for, and donating to receive these drabbles. I appreciate you so much!! 
> 
> Today's was written for [weareonejaazzhand](http://weareonejazzhand.tumblr.com)! She was kind enough to let me write the Grouis I was craving. Her request was for it to be canon compliant but outside the radio studio. 
> 
> With that said, I do reference some things that happened on Greg's social media that I'm unsure were saved (unfortunately) as well as a part of his show from...Tuesday I think it was. I don't have a full clip of his chat with the listener, but you can find the important part about what the One Direction boys' names taste like [here](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/post/182434694223/louisource-bbcradio1-ever-wondered). And with that, I hope you enjoy!!

Greg bounced to the beat and enjoyed more of the little mini quiche type things he had picked up at the food table. The party was fun, especially since Adele was the one DJing at the moment. Grim was meant to take a turn at the tables as well, but Greg was just there to socialize and post to his Instagram stories as promo. He could handle that.

He had just pulled up the app and was about to start recording when a very recognizable pop star he hadn’t seen in awhile looked to be walking Greg’s way. Looking up from his phone to make sure he wasn’t imagining things, he found Louis Tomlinson was, in fact, right in front of him.

“Why hello, Gregory,” Louis said with a smirk. 

Greg felt like he was teasing him in some way, but he wasn’t sure how. He hadn’t said anything particularly teasing, and yet everything about the way he was holding himself was loaded. The angle he held his head so his cheekbones looked sharp and sinful, the way he had to look up at Greg through his eyelashes. The way he cocked his hip out to show off his curves. 

Okay, maybe Louis wasn’t teasing, maybe he was flirting. But Greg felt like he was being teased. How the hell was he ever supposed to be able to be worthy of touching  _ that? _

“Hello, Louis,” Greg said, clearing his throat a little. He felt entirely thrown off. He was used to being able to prepare himself for meeting up with Louis because he always had at least a few days to prepare for seeing him. Get questions ready. Steel himself for his beauty. He’d had none of that tonight. He’d been told Louis couldn’t make it, so his presence was a complete surprise, not to mention the fact he’d apparently sought out Greg. “Wait, were you trying to play on Ainsley’s ‘Why hello, Jill’ with that, or were you just being yourself?”

“I’ll let you choose,” Louis said, smile growing. “Glad you came. I was really craving some rather dull shortbread, and now, here you are.”

Greg inhaled some of the crumbs from the pastry he had just popped in his mouth and began to cough. While he didn’t enjoy the feeling of the inability to breathe, he did appreciate the fact it bought him time to come to terms with several things at once. 

First: Louis apparently listened to his show, or at least his podcast, because the fact the listener with synesthesia told him the name Greg or Gregory tasted like shortbread was not included in the snippets added to the Radio 1 social media. God, and Louis had been specific with the shortbread. The listener had said shortbread that had had the sugar all dusted off and was therefore quite dull and dry, and Louis knew that. Greg shouldn’t feel so tingly over that discover, but here he was.

Second: Not only had Louis listened to his show, but he was using information he had learned while listening to the show to say he craved Greg. That’s what that meant, right? Saying he craved some rather dull shortbread and then he found Greg meant he was actually craving Greg. He thought. Maybe he was overthinking things.

Fuck, Greg was a bigger mess than usual, and now he had tears streaming down his face because of his embarrassing reaction to Louis’ statement. At least he could breathe without coughing again.

“Ehm, yes. Here I am!” Greg gave an awkward smile, but he really was very confused as to what he had done to garner Louis’ attention. They’d flirted occasionally on the show, but Greg had truly thought that was just Louis’ natural state of being. Almost like he couldn’t help it. He’d seen Louis with Grimmy as well, and he acted the same way with him. Greg didn’t think he was anything special, but maybe he was?

“And it’s nice to see you outside the urinal as well, though that dance was quite cute. Showed off your shoulders and back muscles quite nicely.”

Greg’s cheeks flamed. He’d done a stupid little post using the mirror in the loos earlier because he thought it was funny. He often found himself funny. He hadn’t expected anyone to really pay much attention, outside of his listeners. He  _ definitely _ didn’t think a fit pop star would have noticed. And yet... 

“Hold on a second,” Greg said, his brain finally deciding to kick in instead of staying stuck in a constant state of overwhelm. “You having all of this information could only mean you’ve not only listened to my show, but you’re actually keeping some sort of tabs on my social media as well.”

“Ah, there he is,” Louis said, pursing his lips together and taking a sip of the drink he was holding. “I was waiting for you to catch up.”

Blinking quickly, Greg cocked his own hip. Time for a bit of his own attitude. 

“I’m just a dumb guy who uses far too many puns and pushes his luck with his bosses on a regular basis to see how ridiculous they’ll let me be,” Greg said, slowly closing the distance between them. “I always push the boundaries, waiting for someone to tell me no, and I make an idiot of myself as much as possible because I find it fun. What about this is appealing to you?”

Louis took the last step in, pushing their chests together. He wound his hand up behind Greg’s neck and took advantage of the dark lighting in the room as he rose up onto his tippy toes to whisper into Greg’s ear.

“You seem like someone who doesn’t mind having to work for something. Plus, you’re rather fit. Think you could use those strong arms of yours to hold me up against the wall a bit?”

His breath against Greg’s ear in addition to the actual words he was saying had Greg at least half hard in his pants. 

“Fuck, yes,” Greg whispered back, nuzzling into Louis’ neck. “Wanna get out of here? Give it a try?”

“Come back to mine and maybe you can get your own taste of some sweet strawberry laces,” Louis said with a wink before pulling away from Greg entirely and walking towards the exit.

It only took Greg approximately three seconds to realize he didn’t have to just watch Louis walk away, but he could actually join him - was  _ expected _ to join him. 

“God yes,” he muttered before doing his best to catch up with the curvy man who just ducked out of the party. He didn’t want to ruin this before it had really begun.


	19. I Was Never Very Good at Following Directions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got away from me, but I hope that nobody minds. :D This drabble was written for the incredible [Mollu](http://becomeawendybird.tumblr.com)! The pairing is Larry.
> 
> Her request came from [this post](https://wendybirdprompts.tumblr.com/post/179441577556/scp-3008-imagine-yr-otp-the-person-laying-down), but I switched it around a bit. It is a headline that reads, "Man arrested for putting fake arrow decals on the floor in IKEA and for creating a labyrinth with no exit". 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!!

Louis packed up his things and left the cafeteria, heading towards the showrooms. 

He loved IKEA. It was a calm, soothing place where everything was perfectly organized - or at least they looked to be -  _ and _ it was nicely sorted by purpose. Some days, when he’d had a rough time at work, he would come and wander through the tiny bedroom showrooms for hours at a time, imagining the kinds of lives that could be lived in a space that small.

He had just turned into his favorite kitchen when the strangest thing happened. A man wearing what looked to be a newsboy cap paired with an oversized brown cardigan and mom jeans suddenly stopped where he was, looked around himself, then knelt down to the ground.  

Blocked as his view was by the kitchen table in front of him, he could no longer see the young man dressed like a grandpa. Louis obviously had no choice to but walk slowly towards him, always making sure to stay far enough away that he wouldn’t capture the man’s attention. He still couldn’t quite see what he was doing hunched over on the floor, but then the man popped back up again, looked at the ceiling, and threw something Louis couldn’t quite see into the air. He laughed when it never came back down and then walked away with purpose.

Louis was entirely confused, but he also knew he wanted to figure it out. Instead of his usual path through the showrooms, he quickly took after the unusual man.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry was being followed. At first he was worried it was an employee, but then the man started talking to him and Harry got even more confused.

“What is it exactly that you’re throwing over the lighted arrows to keep them from shining on the floor?”

He’d been asking question after question, and Harry was doing his best to keep his answers short and sweet to bore the man and cause him to leave, but then the man had started helping. Harry didn’t mind help.

“You know those sticky hands that kids often get out of the little bubble gum machines? I found things similar to that and they stick to almost anything. If you angle it right, they’ll stick to the lights really easily.”

“You’re very clever,” Louis said.

Louis had bright eyes and was clever himself, knowing the IKEA showroom floor even better than Harry. He supposed he could stay.

“Come on, if you have an arrow pointing left out of this bedroom, it’ll push them towards the shortcut that sends them almost back to the beginning of the kitchens.”

Harry smiled and followed the beautiful, clever man.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Zayn was lost. He’d come for one specific dresser his sister had insisted she needed. He had found the number easily enough, but now he couldn’t get out of the maze of the upstairs so he could go to the self serve area and pick it up. He was going to die in a fucking IKEA. 

Finally seeing two workers gossiping and giggling in the corner rather than helping the confused customers, Zayn marched over to them.

“How the hell do I get downstairs,” Zayn asked, perhaps a bit more harsh than necessary, but he was  _ frustrated. _

The one as tall as a giraffe, Greg according to his nametag, said, “Just follow the arrows on the floor.”

“We should probably offer to walk him to the stairs,” the other one, Nick, said.

Zayn sighed. “I’ve been following your damn arrows for at least twenty minutes and have yet to get further than the desks.”

“Oh, that’s almost there!” Greg said with a smile. “How’d you get turned around at that point?” 

Greg was definitely Zayn’s least favorite of the two. He sounded entirely too cheery for spending his entire day in a maze that would end up being Zayn’s demise.

Glaring a little, Zayn folded his arms and tried to look as intimidating as possible. “I followed your arrows.”

 

*~~***~~*

 

Nick was incredibly glad when Greg offered to take the beautiful, angry man away. He looked like he could hurt Nick and Nick very much did  _ not  _ like being in pain.

The thing was, ever since Greg had walked off with the man about ten minutes ago, at least three more people had come to Nick asking how to get downstairs. He was used to one or two older folks coming and needing extra assistance, but everyone coming to him seemed perfectly able to follow a pathway marked by simple and clear arrows. 

Finally realizing he would need to guide people to the exit himself, Nick started walking in the direction of the downstairs. Just as there should be, he saw arrows on the ground to help people make sure they could find their way around. The problem was the arrows Nick found - very good replications of the true IKEA arrows he had to admit - were pointing in what was definitely  _ not _ the correct direction.

Once he’d lead what felt like his very own line of ducklings to the stairs and the group sighed with relief, Nick went to investigate. He’d seen a few of the lights still working, but wherever there was an arrow directing people in the wrong way, he looked up and found the lights were, for whatever reason, not shining.

He didn’t have to go far before the incorrect arrows showed up again, but none of the ones closest to the stairs had been tampered with yet.

“Sorry,” Nick apologized when he accidentally ran into someone due to looking at the shortcut that one of the arrows was pointing at. That would just send people back about three showrooms, not towards the stairs.

Turning around, Nick saw a man who looked like his fashion icon was eighty year old Mr. Beatty and Louis.

“Oh hey, Louis,” Nick said, scratching the back of his neck. “You haven’t seen anything strange going on around here, have you? There’s arrows pointing in all the wrong directions, and I don’t have a clue how it all happened.”

The young grandfather choked a little while Louis’ eyes went wide and he started laughing a little. 

“That is so strange, isn’t it? Okay, well I’ve got to get going and this one needs to know how to find the exit since all the arrows are messed up. Nice seeing you, Nick!”

Nick narrowed his eyes and watched them scurry away. He should have called off work today. He wasn’t paid enough for this.

 

*~~***~~*

 

“This isn’t  _ actually _ an arrest, is it?” Mendes asked again. 

Liam wasn’t sure. He didn’t like not being sure. There had been some tampering of the lights and some temporary modifications of the directions for the showrooms, but Liam wasn’t positive that was enough to have anything really happen.

All the same, their boss sent them down to respond to a call from IKEA, so they were doing what they were meant to do and taking statements before bringing the man back to the station for further questioning. At the very least they did need to make a note of the disturbance.

Once they got to the office where the man was being held, Liam turned to his partner and said, “I don’t anticipate any trouble. Let’s not worry about cuffing him unless he becomes violent. Let’s just get him to the station so we can fill out the paperwork and let the guy go.”

Liam nodded at the security officer who was guarding the door and once it was opened, two men flew back from each other in an attempt to not be in what had previously looked to be a rather compromising position.

“Uhh,” Liam looked at the security officer. “I thought you said it was just one? Was it actually two?”

Smirking a little, the security officer said, “It was. The one in the sweater. The other just wouldn’t leave him alone and he’s a good guy. I didn’t see the harm.”

“See ya later, Harry,” the extra man said, wiping the back of his hand against his mouth as he walked out of the room. “See you on Saturday, Niall.”

The security officer waved with a bright smile and said, “Bye, Louis.”

Turning back to the blushing man remaining in the room, Liam gestured towards the exit and said, “If you’d just follow us.”

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis leaned his head back. The rare day of sunshine felt amazing against his skin, even if it was a bit chilly still. He loved spring. It felt hopeful and clean and bright after a long, dreary winter.

He heard the doors to the station open and he opened his eyes, looking to see if it was who he was hoping it was.

Sure enough, Harry walked out, ruffling his hand through his hair a little before he froze halfway down the sidewalk. 

“Louis?” he asked, sounding unsure.

“Heya,” Louis said, waving. “Thought you might need a ride.”

Dimple showing despite the fact Harry was obviously trying to hold back his smile, Harry said, “Are you sure you can be seen with a wanted man like me?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Louis said, “I kind of was an accomplice, even if no one believed me.”

Harry hummed and came to a stop right in front of Louis. “How’d you do that, anyway?”

Louis shuffled his feet a little, unsure how much information to give. “Let’s just say I’m at that particular IKEA rather often.”

Now smirking a little, Harry leaned forward and kissed Louis softly. It was much more gentle than the kisses they had shared in the manager’s office, but it left Louis feeling just as needy.

“How about you let me take you on a date and then maybe we can take this back to my place?” Louis asked, hoping he could be heard above the wind. It had picked up and almost blew Harry’s hat off.

“I could use some food,” Harry said, turning around and walking to the passenger side of the car. 

This wasn’t how Louis had anticipated his day off going, but if it ended with Harry in his bed, he wasn’t going to complain.


	20. Kiss Me or Not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friends! This is the last drabble! I'm kind of sad but also super impressed with what I was able to do haha Thank you so so so much to everyone who participated by donating, reading, commenting, and spreading the word. I appreciate all of you so much!
> 
> The last drabble was written for the lovely [greeneyedlarrie](http://greeneyedlarrie.tumblr.com). They requested Zouis...but not just simply Zouis. Their specific request was Harry and Louis are in an open relationship and Louis is interested in possibly pursuing something with Zayn, but is nervous. They wanted it canon compliant around 2013/2014. 
> 
> In my head this takes place during the TMH tour. Also big thanks to [Sada](http://sadaveniren.tumblr.com) for helping me brainstorm and make sure I was staying true to the feel of an open relationship. Obviously, this is fiction and I myself do not have experience in this kind of relationship, but I did actually research and read and Sada helped give me pointers too, so hopefully this suits! 
> 
> Thank you so much for this prompt and I sure hope you like it!!

Louis messed with his fringe again. It was a rare night off for them and everyone was too tired to go out and do anything. Louis was grateful. Harry had been building him up to  _ do something _ for weeks now and tonight was finally the night.

Partially because Harry had promised Louis that he wouldn’t be allowed back in their room until he’d gone and had a good snog with Zayn, but also Louis was ready. He was. He was just nervous.

“Baby, you’re so sexy tonight,” Harry said, coming up behind Louis, wrapping his arms around Louis’ waist and nuzzling into his neck. “Zayn isn’t going to be able to resist you. He wouldn’t want to anyway, but especially when you’re looking like this.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “You’re biased ‘cause you’re my boyfriend.”

“Yes I am,” Harry agreed, looking up with a smile into the mirror. “But it’s still the truth.”

Louis sighed and nodded. “Okay. I’m already late to meet him. I should go.”

Harry walked Louis to the door of their room and pulled Louis in for a quick, filthy kiss. “I love thinking of you with him,” Harry said as he drew himself back. “Go make my wet dreams come true and then come back and snuggle me after, okay?”

Louis shivered as tingles rippled over his skin due to the heat from Harry’s gaze. He loved that Harry could make him feel like that.

“Yeah,” Louis said with a soft smile. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Harry opened the door and before Louis could do anything himself, Harry shoved him out into the hall and slammed it shut again. Wanker.

Biting his lip and rubbing his hands on his thighs in nervousness, Louis walked down to Zayn’s room. He’d been lucky enough to get the room to himself tonight, which was part of the reason why Louis and Harry had decided tonight would be the night he did something about this…  _ thing… _ that had been going on between him and Zayn.

Zayn had been a major support and the person Louis talked to when he was worried about going out and pulling when Harry wasn’t available. Zayn knew all about their relationship and how they had carefully formed rules to protect themselves and each other. He’d been a great help and support for both of them during that. 

But, unlike Harry, Louis could not bring himself to go out and sleep with random strangers. Louis loved the freedom they allowed themselves with their relationship, but he couldn’t bring himself to  _ actually do anything _ about it. 

Until tonight.

He and Zayn had been flirting on the edge of something for weeks now. Hell, one night a week or so ago when they were somewhere in Germany, Louis hadn’t even returned to their room because he’d fallen asleep in Zayn’s arms. In Zayn’s bed.

It was then that Louis knew he wanted to actually do it. He wanted to have more than just a cuddle and admire how beautiful Zayn was. Louis wanted to snog his face off and feel his lips beneath his. He wanted to run his fingers through the length of hair on top of his head and scritch at where it was buzzed nice and short in the back all while he felt how Zayn’s body reacted to his.

When Louis woke up and realized that, he immediately went back to his room and waited for Harry to finish recording with Julian so he could have a bit of a meltdown and figure out how to go about it.

They’d come up with a plan. The plan was to do everything he and Zayn usually do. Watch a film, cuddle on the couch, maybe smoke a bit of weed to help them relax, and then right before he got to the sleepy stage of being high, he would make his move.

Steeling himself, Louis straightened his shoulders and knocked on Zayn’s door. 

As soon as Zayn opened the door and Louis saw him in his baggy grey joggers and snug old t-shirt he’d stolen from Harry, Louis threw the plan out the window. There wasn’t going to be any waiting for snuggles on the couch. No weed to calm him and give him courage. Louis needed to kiss Zayn and he needed to do it  _ now. _

Louis stepped up to Zayn, who made a surprised sound and let the door close behind them. Gently running his hand across Zayn’s cheekbone so he could put his fingers into his product free hair, Louis looked into his eyes.

“Is this okay?” he whispered. “You want this too, right?”

Zayn nodded quickly. “Yeah, babes. I do.”

“And you’re okay with me and Harry doing things how we are?” 

As if Louis wasn’t nervous enough about trusting a boy with something like this, he was even more nervous that when the time came and he found a boy he did trust and who wanted him too, that they wouldn’t be okay with Harry and Louis’ relationship being a part of things. Not just a part of things, but a bigger part of things than Louis and that someone else ever would be. 

Taking a breath and forcing his attention away from Zayn’s mouth, Louis asked, “You’re okay with him basically coming first always?”

Zayn arched his brow. “Lou, I helped you guys come up with those rules. Yes, I’m okay with them.”

Nodding, Louis closed his eyes for the last bit of strength he needed. “Okay. Then I’d really like to kiss you now.”

“Thank fuck,” Zayn muttered.

Louis was prepared to be the one to act. He was ready to take charge, but he was pleasantly surprised when Zayn was the one to initiate the kiss. Louis had gotten them most of the way there, Zayn seemed more than okay to take the last part in hand.

Kissing Zayn was everything Louis had imagined it to be and more. He was so gentle and the way that he pressed for more and guided Louis through it was so different from Harry, but still so very perfect. It was everything Louis needed.

When Louis showed back up to their shared room with kiss swollen lips, Harry gave him a wide smile and a hug. 

“I knew he’d never be able to say no,” Harry whispered. He pulled back and gave Louis a soft kiss of his own. “Come on to bed now, love. You did great.”

For once, Louis just might agree.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you again for reading! I hope you're enjoying these. I would greatly appreciate it if you would also help spread the word by possibly reblogging the fic post [here](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/post/182035969358/drabbles-for-harrys-birthday-drive-2019-25k).


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